Out of Nowhere
by Writer of the ghosts
Summary: The Pevensie siblings have just taken the thrones of Narnia. Things are already getting tense, and an ambitious neighbor isn't helping. there is much room for mistakes, when Edmund brings back a prisoner, Peter must sort out his personal feelings from what is good for the realm. follow the high king as he leads his people through this time of stress and danger.
1. Chapter 1

**_Authors Note: All credit for the idea for this story goes to thrufirewithoutaburn I read a story of his recently and decided to make my own version of it. which I guess makes this a fanfic of a fanfic. (fic-ception)_**

chapter 1

Peter could see that the battle was turning against them. He had already ordered the Narnian army to fall back to the rocks. While the battle was going against them it wasn't as bad of a defeat as Peter had anticipated.

He knew that this would be a defeat before they even met that day, and normally he would have refused to face the Jadis for that reason alone but he needed to both play the part of the foolish youth in order to deceive Jadis and he also needed to gauge how powerful her army was.

He planned to have his soldiers retreat from the beginning but he had underestimated the witch's aggression maybe she knew that he would retreat. Maybe she was acting too brashly since she hadn't actually fought an army in some time.

The reason didn't matter since all that Peter knew was that he was losing and needed to ensure his army survived in order to keep this rebellion going, no this wasn't a rebellion Peter. Jadis was never the queen of Narnia. She was a usurper, a monster who had been running amuck casting the illusion of authority. All the power of Narnia and of God was at the backs of him and his family.

Having reminded himself of that Peter took a survey of his surroundings. His unicorn was doing its part in getting him back to the second line. There they would scatter and head off to separate camps lead by a member of the command staff.

They would need a different style of war in order to win this war. They couldn't fight it like it was a normal war. Aslan had told Peter in private about the power of the deplorable word. If they were to win this war they would need to kill Jadis and then defeat her army.

Peter's focus on his long-term plans had just cost him a dire penalty. A sharp-eyed dwarf armed with crossbow had taken a shot at him but had thankfully aimed too low and instead had run a barbed broadhead through his mounts back leg it still caused the animal to stumble and throw him from its back.

He crashed into the ground and his head smashed against his own gauntlet. He had most certainly suffered an injury from this and his head would hurt for days if he lived.

He wasn't sure how long he laid on the ground unable to move. But when he rose back to his feet he saw that the witch's army was almost upon him. Peter knew that he was dead. His army was in a full retreat and even if they had noticed him they couldn't stop for him he had commanded them not to stop their retreat for anything. For the time being, they had to think of their unit.

He was staggered over to where his sword had fallen and retrieved it before making his way to his dying mount. With a tear in his eye, he ran Rhindon through the suffering creatures temple. It was dying and that was the only thing he could to easy it's passing.

As the witch's army drew nearer he raised Rhindon and readied himself for battle and ultimately death. Edmund was going to live, he knew that. And as long as Edmund lived he would get Susan and Lu out of Narnia. His family would live.

As he readied himself for the first wave to reach him he saw Oreius and Cetus rushing past him with about thirty satyrs and centaurs behind them. Once they were twenty paces ahead of Peter four of the centaurs and satyrs split off and turned back to Peter.

The centaurs and satyrs made up the bulk of the Narnian heavy infantry and cavalry. They the best species for front-line fighting that Peter had. Their only true rivals where the minotaurs to oppose the satyrs and the werewolves to oppose the centaurs.

After the satyrs in the advanced group formed a line and braced behind their shields Oreius and the majority of the centaurs rushed forward.

It was a suicide run but it had a purpose. Every beast slain by those twenty-six centaurs was a beast that would not need to be slain by the remaining twenty-six satyrs. And the longer the satyrs could hold their line the longer the eight who turned back and had since grabbed Peter more time to get Peter away.

By the time Peter's head was clearing he was on a ridge overlooking the battle. He wasn't certain how but Oreius and Cetus had rallied the army and funneled Jadis' army into a choke point. They were holding strong but Jadis was cutting through them like a hot knife through butter.

But that meant she was invested. This may be their best chance to kill her.

He turned to give an order when he saw out of the corner of his eye a gryphon coming in for a landing. It landed in a hurry not bothering to slow down it dragged a trail in the dirt behind it.

"Edmund sends word," the gryphon spoke to Peter. "He says that we must destroy the wand if we are to kill the witch," his message delivered the gryphon bowed its head and said." may I relay a message to him, sir?"

Peter nodded and said. "Tell this to whoever is at the front lines, I will be there as soon as I can but that staff is the key to today being a victory or a defeat."

As the gryphon took off Peter knew that he was wrong, there was little chance that they would win this battle even if the wand was destroyed but they were committed now and this was the only sound course of action.

He mounted a new horse and rode to the front when he arrived he saw Oreius and Cetus duelling Jadis. She was faster but between the two of them, she couldn't get a clean attack at either one without getting killed herself.

That changed when General Otmin of the Witch's army charged in and attacked Oreius dragging him away from the wItch and Cetus. Now it was all Cetus could do to stay alive. He thrust out his spear in a flurry frantically trying to keep Jadis at distance. So far it was the thing that had gotten him this far.

The witch was about to parry one of his thrust and kill him Peter opened his mouth to cry out a warning. He knew it would do Cetus no good, he was already dead.

When suddenly Jadis pulled her attack back as fast as she could. As fast as she pulled back it wasn't fast enough as greatsword came crashing down through it breaking it.

Peter looked and saw Orieus standing twenty feet away. His hands were empty and at his feet lay Otmin with two of the centaurs swords sticking out of his back. It clear that he had thrown his sword in order to both save his friend and to destroy the wand.

He was now unarmed and Jadis knew it. She was running his way with her sword in her hand and a snarl on her face.

Without hesitating Oreius grabbed Otmin's battle axe and went about fighting the now wandless and as such less dangerous White Witch.

Jadis reached Oreius at the same time that Cetus did and she was back to fighting both of them only this time was lacking her wand. While the Witch was more taxed by this fight she still held her own until a thrust from Cetus was parried resulting in the witch throwing a side kick that knocked Cetus back several feet.

She turned back to Oreius only to see Peter's blade come out of nowhere only mere inches from her neck. She managed to dodge the strike but still had a nasty gash on her neck.

As she stepped back she touched her hand to the wound and when the hand came back with red on it she looked at the man she had addressed as "little king" less than a two days ago. He was the first person since she came to Narnia to make bleed for this he was both hated and for the first time in over a millennium feared. She began to fight the boy and they both started to move so fast that to Peter even Orieus and Cetus no longer existed only Jadis they swung, thrust, blocked and parried at such speed that it no longer felt natural.

The fight that seemed more like a dance kept going and seemed like it would keep going until suddenly...

High King Peter sat up in his bed sweat dripping from his swinging arm as he made a furious swipe at were Jadis' head was not a moment ago. Instead, Rhindon only sank into his bedpost. It left a chip in the post alongside all of the others Peter had made the same way. Every night he would dream of the battle and in the middle of his fighting he would wake and strike out at the nearest object.

There was a knocking at the door that told Peter what had woken him this time.

"Please enter," he said hoping he didn't sound as shaken as he was.

The door opened and it was Oreius and who entered the chambers.

"High King, you may wish to see this," he said before he saw that Peter had Rhindon in hand and saw the chips taken out of the bedpost. The centaur kneeled next to the bed before he placed one of his hands on Peter's shoulders. Your majesty, there is no shame in admitting to having the terrors visit you in your sleep. It is a part of war, and talking helps." Oreius looked away as though he was seeing a memory. "It really helps," he said.

He looked back to the teenager before he continued. "You can always talk to me, and I know Cetus feels the same,"

Peter nodded. He understood that he needed help and it only made sense that Orieus and Cetus would provide it. They had trained him for war and now they will teach him how to cope with life after war.

Orieus continued saying. " and believe it or not Otmin can be of great use with them."

Peter thought of the minotaur now in the residing in the Cair Paravel dungeon. Though his wounds where great he lived after Lucy used her fire flower bottle to save him. While he accepted defeat he refused to accept the Pevensie's as his kings and queens and vowed to kill Peter if he ever got the chance to do so.

Getting out of bed Peter put on his royal robes as Oreius asked him. "That brings up what we must do with him, I feel the wisest course of action may be to execute him. As long as he lives the men who followed him may turn on you or your family"

Once his robes were on Peter turned to face the centaur holding his arms out to ask if he had forgotten anything. Oreius straightened one of his lapels while Peter answered him. "I can't order his death," Oreius opened his mouth to say that as a high king he was going to need to give that order someday and that he can't put it off because he feels wrong being the judge but Peter cut him off saying. " I know that he has done terrible things but I think about him and I think back the moment when I learned that Jadis held a legitimate claim to Edmund I would have done anything to save him and I mean anything." he headed for the door as he continued pausing only to buckle Rhindon to his belt. " if I would have done anything to save my brother I can't expect him to kill himself to oppose Jadis. Until me and my family arrived Narnia had no hope of salvation. He was given the choice of running his whole life or siding with the only person who seemed to have any real authority. I can't fault him for either choice."

It had only been a month or two since the Pevensies had been made kings and queens of Narnia but they had adjusted quickly Peter had been acting more and more like a high king every day. Oreius knew that he was right but he still didn't like, but he wasn't meant to. He was a general, not a king.

They made their way to the throne room where Edmund and Cetus along with their surveying party stood waiting for him. The way that Cetus stood told Peter that he was nervous and that worried him. 'Ed, what have you done?' Peter thought to himself.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Edmund," Peter said being careful not to show how worried he was his little brother's return. "You shouldn't have returned for at least three more days so why are you here?"

Edmund's face shone with pride and that only worried Peter more, he was too young to know what he should be proud of and the fact that he was as proud to show Peter whatever he had done only made all the worse.

"When we were patrolling the border we saw a Calormen convoy that had crossed the border, we checked in on it and it turned out to be a small raiding party in disguise. We engaged the men and the others back to the Calormen empire," the younger king's face still radiated pride but Peter was getting hopeful. If all Ed had done was destroy a raiding group then this may not be so bad.

He had turned to look out over the eastern ocean to think about what he was going to say to his brother, the act of warring was not something to be proud of. It was one thing to be glad you have protected your own people but it was another to set out with the intent to kill for the sake of killing. Then there was a sick and distinctly feminine cough from behind Edmund.

Peter's head snapped around to look at his brother, "Ed, what was that?" he asked his tone even and controlled but on the inside, he was growing more and more concerned.

"Well," Edmund said awkwardly shifting from one foot to the other. He may have noticed that Peter wasn't happy and was now getting worried himself. "We didn't send everyone back?" he said as he stepped to the side. There was a woman on her knees, Peter wondered how he had not seen her before but that did not matter.

Peter's formerly rising hopes sank into the ground as he saw the prisoner. "Ed," he said holding his left hand out to the woman who had yet to even look him in the eye. "Why is she here?" his tone while still, even no doubt began to show that while he was trying to give his brother the benefit of the doubt he was still ready for the bad news.

"Well you see, we need to keep the royal family going so I thought that maybe you and her could…" as Edmund began to try and find a good way to spin was he was saying he was interrupted by his brother who had dropped the tone of even calm for one of anger and disappointment.

"Edmund Pevensie," he said in a voice so low that Edmund could barely hear it. "I think it would be best if you left the room," after a moment of pause where nothing happened he added "now!"

He could see that his brother was thinking about refusing but then he saw that his brother had done the same math he had, Edmund was a king of Narnia but Peter was the high king, his word was law. And while he had never had to directly punish his brother or sisters it was known that his was the final word in Narnia.

With his head hung low in shame and submission Edmund left the room. Cetus and his men were also waiting with their head low in shame for their part in the king's actions.

"Cetus," Peter said. "Your men did as they should have done, they obeyed their king. Now take them back and let them rest they have fought and I will conclude that they have fought hard."

The satyr nodded and lead his men out of the hall leaving Peter and Oreius with the girl. Peter turned to the centaur and said. "Oreius please see to it that my brother is given an extra round of practice for his sword training, I will be by to give it to him." the centaur nodded and silently left the throne room.

Leaving his sword resting on his throne Peter approached her. He held out his hand to help her to her feet and she refused to look at him. He could understand why she would feel this way, his brother had kidnapper her and apparently intended to give her to him like she was a sharp sword or fast horse.

He saw that her hands were bound with rope so he cut the rope and used his free hand to lift her head by the chin. He wanted to see who she was after all. The moment that her eyes meet his he felt his heart skips several beats.

She was by far the most beautiful woman he had ever seen in his life, both here and in England. He knew that he should not be staring at her like this especially after what his brother had said.

It took most of his willpower but he managed to tear his gaze from her an instead plastered them out the windows overlooking the eastern ocean. He was still looking off into the distance when he heard the unmistakable sound of a knife being drawn from a sheath.

His hand shot down to his waist where he felt his knife before he looked to see that the woman he had just been trying to help was trying to stab him with a knife that she held in an icepick grip in her right hand.

Acting fast he caught her arm and grabbed the back of her right hand with his left hand and pulled it back behind her head. He then threaded his right arm behind her bicep and grabbed her forearm locking the joint at an angle that while uncomfortable wasn't going to injure her anytime soon.

He grabbed the knife from her hand and tossed it away from them. "I am going to have to ask that you please not try that again," he said doing his best to sound like a king.

She did not respond with words she simply jerked her hand free form his grasp and went back to looking at the floor.

"What is your name?" Peter asked her trying once more to start up a conversation.

She was silent for a moment before in a quiet voice she said. " my name is Falaah, my Lord."

Peter scoffed when she spoke which drew attention she looked ready to say something but Peter cut her off saying. "You are not one of my subjects, to you I am only Peter"

He could see the shock on her face when he told her to address him by his name and not his title. It certainly wasn't a luxury Tisroc would allow to anyone. "I know that you are here against your will so I want to return you to your people as soon as I can, where are you from Falaah a border town or are you from farther inward. I need to know how much money it will cost to pay for your trip home."

She seemed to be trying to find an answer when he started to notice that she had several bruises and small cuts.

He looked at her for the first time since she had tried to stab him. "Did my brother do this?" he asked his voice thick with both worry and the beginnings of anger.

"No my lord I have not been touched by a…" she would have kept going but Peter cut her off once more saying.

"I told you not to call me that, of course it is odd that my only right to tell you what to call me is the title I am telling you holds no authority over you so I guess I am just politely asking you, Please call me Peter" by the time he was done he had his hand on his chin and his growing stubble.

She smiled and gave off a small giggle. It seemed that she found his self-contemplation to be amusing. Whereas Peter found her giggle to be almost entrancing. He could barely keep himself from asking her to do it again.

It was also when he saw her laugh that he saw that she had cuts and slight bruises on her neck. He reached out and ignored how she may have reacted he gently touched one of the bruises. The way she flinched told him that it was a fresh bruise.

"Who did this to you?" he asked his anger clearer than it was before.

She almost shrank back when she heard just how angry he was. "It was not one of your soldiers or your brother but I would rather not tell you."

Peter didn't like that she was hiding someone who was clearly abusing her but he had asked her to treat him like an equal and now he needed to honor his end of that request.

He took her hand and gestured down one of the hallways. "My sister should be able to treat those injuries, she should be in her library." he made a fact of not asking if she wanted to go since he was hoping his commanding presence would mean that he did not need to.

His gamble paid off as Falaah followed him without any argument. They soon made their way to the library where Lucy and Susan were most likely reading. When he got there he knocked on the door three times. First, he was gentle but after there was no response he knocked three more times just a little bit louder. He was about to start banging his closed fist on the door when it opened and Lucy's aid the faun named Tumnus.

"Yes your majesty how may I help you?" he asked with his ever-present smile.

"I must find my sisters do you know where they are?" he asked trying to both look around the faun without being rude.

Seeing Falaah behind Peter while still holding his hand Tumnus came to his own conclusion about what was happening and with a somehow brighter smile he said "High Queen Susan is here and Queen Lucy should be back at any moment." the faun headed into the library leave the door open just in case Peter had any doubts about whether or not he should enter into his sisters' library.

They followed after Tumnus who lead them deep into the library until they came across Susan was sitting in a chair with a book in her hands. It was a common sight nowadays to find Susan with her face buried in a book at every chance she could get. Narnia had existed for about nine hundred years before Jadis took over and in those years there had been many great writers. Susan had made it her mission to improve the education of as much of Narnia that she could and she needed to read on the history and literature.

She looked up from her book and saw Tumnus, Peter, and Falaah. She placed her bookmark into her current read and delicately placed it on the table next to her. She rose to her feet and said.

"Hello, I am High Queen Susan I see that you have met my brother if you do not mind my asking who are you."

Peter could tell without looking that Falaah was confused she was holding his hand a little tighter than she was before. After a moment she managed to offer an answer to Susan when she replied with.

"I am Falaah your majesty." as she spoke she bowed her head to the High Queen of Narnia. " am here as a gift to High King Peter."

Peter did not know if Falaah knew what she had just said but since he did not know the Claromen empire he guessed that she may not have gathered just what kind of person he was.

Peter had not the time to think about it was both Mr. Tumnus and Susan looked him. Mr. Tumnus looked betrayed while Susan looked furious. "Peter," she said doing all she could to not kill her brother with the nearest weapon.

Peter wanted to say something but he knew that saying anything right now would only make things worse. He would need to let Susan have her anger and then he could tell her the truth. He saw his sister begin to formulate what she was going to say when a voice from the doorway interrupted her.

"It's my fault," they all turned to see Edmund with his head hung low and Lucy standing next to him tapping her foot with her arms crossed as she looked at her younger brother who was now rubbing his left ear. 'I attacked a Calormen convoy that was hiding a small raiding group and in the chaos, I took Falaah captive. By the time I got back I panicked and…" he trailed off to ashamed of himself to even finish his sentence

"Peter," she said. "Edmund has new for you"

The younger King his head still low said. "We have received reports that a Calromen attack force has raided a small village at the border."

Peter thought about it for a moment and as tended to happen whenever he thought deeply about something he started to scratch at his stubble.

"Mr. Tumnus are you satisfied with my actions so far?" he asked

The faun seemed to understand the question and the other meaning that it had and said. "Yes, your majesty I am."

"Good," Peter said. "Go tell Oreius to make my guard ready for battle, this attack cannot go unpunished."

The Faun nodded and ran off to find the centaur. He also made a fact of leaving through a side door to avoid walking passed, Edmund.

"Lucy, Falaah needs your medical expertise," Peter said gesturing his hand from his sister to the girl.

Lucy nodded quickly and headed over to get to work. Peter turned Susan and said. "We need to make sure that she would be safe in the empire before she can be sent home. I will explain more when I return but for now I need you to get her a room where she can stay," he paused for a moment and said. "In fact, Lucy would you like a roommate?" he asked.

He watched his little sister's head pop up from what she was doing with a large smile on her face. She had always had to share a room with Susan but once they moved into Cair Paravel she had been given her own room and it was starting to bother her.

She didn't need to answer since her face was so bright at the mention of a roommate. So he looked to Falaah and asked. "Would you mind sharing a room with my sister?"

The dark skinned woman thought for a moment before she said: "yes, I think I could live with that."

Having settled that Peter started towards the courtyard to meet his men, he thankful had enough of his armour on and any more he could get on the way there. As he passed his brother he said. "Walk with me, Ed,"

The younger followed his brother into the hall and when they were about four corners from the library and suitably alone Peter stopped and put his hand on Edmund's shoulder. "Ed," he said. He could see his brother start to say something but he cut him off by raising one of his hands and dismissively waving it. "Ed, I am very disappointed in you, I know you are still young but I never thought you would do something this short-sighted and immature."

Peter reached out and placed the right hand on Edmund's other shoulder. It was at that moment that all the guilt and shame broke Edmund and his instantly wrapped his arms around Peter and started to cry into his brother's tunic cover breastplate.

Running his hand through Edmund's hair Peter continued. " But, and am also very proud of you, not many people would be able to admit what you did, I know it wasn't an easy thing and I am proud of you for being able to recognize your mistake and that you are trying to make amends."

Edmund cried for a few more minutes before he pulled away from Peter. He didn't say anything, there wasn't anything that he could say ever say after what had just happened. It was not lost on Edmund that Peter was now his father figure and it seemed that Peter knew it.

Taking his hands from Edmund's shoulders Peter headed to the courtyard only stopping by his room the get the rest of his armour and the throne room to get Rhindon. When he made it to the courtyard he saw Susan Lucy and Falaah were waiting for him. It was custom for them to see him and the men off whenever they would leave so Peter did not think it too strange. When he mounted his horse he felt someone tugging lightly at one of his greaves and when he looked he saw a small badger holding out an apple for him. He accepted the gift and took a bit of it. Smiling at the youngster he said. "Thank you,"

He kept riding at a slow pace and when he neared with his sisters he stopped. And said. "Susan you have my full backing until I get back." which was to say that he was putting her in charge.

He turned his focus back to the gate and made ready to ride when he felt a second stronger pull at his greave. He looked down to see Falaah looking up at him. "You seem like a good person, please don't get yourself killed."

It was delivered as a joke but Peter could tell that she meant it. He offered her a solemn nod before riding out of the city.

Once the gates were closed Susan began to give orders. "Lucy they may come back with wounded start to gather medical supplies, Edmund meet with Cetus discuss how best to use the men we have to secure Car Paravel from attack, Falaah. Walk with me."

When she finished she started to walk back to the castle and most likely back to her library. After they were back inside the castle and walking around the quiet halls. Susan asked her. "How different is your culture's courtship rituals from what they were four hundred years ago?" she asked.

"Not very, Why" Falaah answered wondering what the high Queen was getting at.

"So what am I supposed to think about the fact that you tucked the scarf Lucy gave you into the back of Peter's saddle when he wasn't looking?"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Falaah was stunned speechless, she didn't think that anyone would notice what she did. And if they did she hoped that no one would understand the significance of her actions. It was a common thing in her culture for women to tuck a piece of their clothing into the saddle of their significant other, or in her case, it would have been a way of showing her interest in someone.

Her cheeks were turning red with embarrassment so she used her hands to cover them. "Well my lady, I am uncertain of my place here or if I will ever be going back to the empire so I found it wise to try to all my options open until I had to make a decisive choice, but your majesty how do you know so much about my culture, you must be well read," she said as she and Susan walked through the halls.

They had made it to a courtyard that Falaah had never seen before. It had a pair of archery targets. About twenty paces from the targets were a matched pair of bows with arrows stuck into two small bales of hay.

When they had reached the bales Susan handed Falaah one of the bows. "What do you think of it, I had it made for Lucy but I don't know if she will ever really be able to use it right?" she said

Falaah looked the bow over she could tell the string was taught, the limbs were strong. And after she drew it back she felt that while it wasn't very powerful it was powerful enough to teach someone on. She also knew that if she said all of that it would tell Susan that she was an educated woman and she did not want to do that. She was not sure what to think of Narnia. She had been told that they were a bunch of savages who killed anything that they could for the fun of it. But she had been told that by the Tisroc and she knew better than to assume that the Tisroc spoke truthfully.

For now, she would wait. If they thought she was just some commoner then they would be more hesitant to send her back. But if they knew who she was then they would most definitely try to send her home as soon as they could. So she would wait if the Narnians where a savage and violent people then she would slowly let them know who she was and they would send her back but if she was right and the stories she had been told were just that. Then she may want to make her home here.

Holding the bow out to Susan she said. "I wish I could tell you more your majesty but I do not know much of bows." she hoped that her slight smile would hide her nervousness.

Susan handed her a handful of arrows and asked. "What of these?"

Falaah took the arrows and without making it too obvious she checked the fletchings to see if they were applied right. There was slightly more that had a mix of left and right feathers than not. It wasn't going to make the arrow unusable but it would throw off the accuracy. She could see that they all looked straight with a few that had a very slight bend in them.

She handed the arrows back and said. "They look like they would fly your majesty,"

Susan smiled and offered her both the bow and three arrows. "Could you please fire at the target on the right please," she said

The way she smiled made Falaah nervous but she took the bow nonetheless. She grabbed the arrow that looked to be the middle of the quality spectrum. The feathers were a mix of two left and a right but the shaft was straight. So she nocked the arrow and drew it back making sure not to draw it all the way back and to try an look like she was struggling more than she was. Once it was back far enough she let go of the string in a sloppy release and made sure not to follow through on her shot.

As such, she wasn't shocked when her arrow landed about a foot to the left of the bullseye. It wasn't as close as she was trying for but it was close enough. That she looked competent without looking too skilled.

"Interesting," Susan said looking at the target. She seemed to believe Falaah deception which was good since if Susan discovered her plan it may prove disastrous as she may be seen as a spy. "I don't know why you feel the need to keep lying to me,"

When the high Queen of Narnia spoke Falaah felt her heart stop in fear. Her plot had been seen through. she looked at the arrows to her right but saw that Susan already had one in her hand. Accepting that this was her death Falaah closed her eyes and waited for the arrow that would end her life.

"But Lucy trusts you I guess I will give you the benefit of the doubt," at the mention of Lucy Falah opened her eyes. She was expecting to be killed not spared on something as simple as one of the queens trusting her. But if you ever break my brother's heart well." while holding eye contact with Falaah Susan drew her bow and fired at her target before walking away saying. "You can feel free to practice whenever you like."

Falaah looked at Susan's target and saw that it was untouched. It wasn't until she looked at her target that she saw that Susan had, in fact, shot HER target and not only that she had both hit the bullseye as well as cut the last six inches of her own arrow of. It had been in the way so Susan simply shot through it.

…

After she got some practice in at the archery range Falaah went for a walk around Cair Paravel. She visited the kitchen where she was greeted by an assortment of badgers, beavers, and centaurs and fauns. All hard at work making lunch for the castle.

She was approached by a badger she would later learn was named Constance. The badger looked at her a little confused at first before she seemed to recognize who Falaah was. "Oh, you must be that girl that King Edmund brought back, how do you do?" she asked with her arms full of what looked to be potatoes.

Falaah was shocked that this badger knew of how she came to be and that she dared to speak of it. After all, it made the High King very angry so why would she ever bring it up again.

Constance seemed to sense her confusion and said. "Oh don't worry nun dear, gossip travels fast round here ya see."

As the badger sat down at a small table she produced a knife and handed it to Falaah asking, "would you like to help my peel these dear?"

Without thinking Falaah took the knife and began to pear the skins off of the potatoes Constance had been holding. While she was doing this Constance was taking them after she peeled them and cutting them up and adding them to a pot that she had clearly been working on for some time.

After they had gotten into a rhythm Falaah asked the badger, "Constance, what does the gossip say about King Edmund bringing me here?"

The badger seemed to think for a moment before answering. " he is still young and he is bound to make mistakes so I guess everyone is sort of glad that he didn't do something worse. Why?"

Falaah thought for a moment herself before saying. " King Edmund did not capture me."

She could see the way that Constance's face now stirred with confusion. "Well, beggin your pardon miss but isn't that the whole reason you are here and not home?"

Falaah gave off a light laugh and said. "No it is not, I was actually the prisoner of the Calormen, I do not know what they had planned for me but thankfully King Edmund attacked and in doing so saved me. I think he was too afraid of what his brother would do to explain that properly."

Falaah knew that it wasn't true but that did not matter to her. She was speaking to one of the apparent gossip mongers of the castle and the sooner she began to spread her altered storied through the grapevine the sooner King Edmund could start to recover his reputation.

And in truth what she said wasn't entirely wrong. She wanted to get away from the Calormen Empire but she had no means of doing so. And if she was going to find a safe haven in Narnia then she would stay in Narnia. But for now, she wanted to stay on neutral ground so that she could do what she felt was best for her. That was her priority.

When she had finished peeling the potatoes Constance thanked her and sensing that she was welcome but out of place Falaah left to go back to the study where she found Susan sitting and reading with a cup of tea next to her.

"I was wondering when you would come here," she said without looking up from her book. She motioned towards a second chair that had a cup of hot tea waiting at it.

"How did you know I would come here?" Falaah asked. It was true that she loved to she had no idea how Susan could have figured that out.

"I have been reading about your culture," Susan said thinking that it explained everything. And after a moment of thought, it did.

In the Empire the works of fiction and even fact that did not speak well of the Tisroc or could be construed as not speaking well of the Tisroc where outlawed and their authors were either killed or erased from history. "Yes, it is a luxury to have access to a more open library, tell me how have the books held up, I know that Narnia was under the control of a queen named Jadis for some time before you and your siblings overthrew her, did she maintain the books." she knew what she was going to be told but she asked anyway. The kings and queens she had meet so far would not have overthrown Jadis had she been a good Queen after all.

" she did not take care of any of them and she destroyed the ones that referred to her enemies directly. As such it is hard to tell how many have stood against her before we arrived but it can be assumed that it was a large number at first and then quite a bit less after she destroyed them.

Falaah wanted to take a seat and start to read but she could tell that Susan was planning something and that her best way to avoid whatever she was planning was to avoid Susan as a whole.

She returned to the archery range and once she fired three bolts into the second most inner ring she was getting ready to put her bow down when she heard the sound of a sword being drawn. She turned and saw a satyr drawing his arm back to swing his blade at a person who was hidden behind the corner of the castle.

Before he could a man stepped out from behind the wall and while he took an orthodox stance he used his left hand to grab the satyr's right arm at the wrist. Then he stepped out of his orthodox stance and threw a hooking punch with his right hand that landed just before his right foot landed in a southpaw stance just to the right of the satyr's. He forced the satyr's right arm down and grabbed his left forearm with his right and threw his left hand forward in a straight punch that landed as his left foot stepped past the satyr's right foot. As he did his left hand overhooked the satyr's right arm before he threw a savage right-handed backward leaning uppercut.

The satyr's head shot back and his feet where lifted off the ground. The satyr dropped on his back unconscious and missing a tooth. A tooth that the man then pulled out of his fist. Before shaking his hand in pain.

Falaah didn't know who he was but she knew that if he attacked a Narnian then he was an enemy of her's. She grabbed an arrow went to knock it when he seemed to notice her and drew a metal object from his belt before he held his hand out towards her and then she saw fire shoot out from the end of his device. And a loud bang rang out causing her to flinch and cover her ears.

When she looked back to her bow she saw that the limb had been severed. She froze in fear as she realized who she was staring at. This was the wizard of the north.

He was infamous among her people she thought he was a myth but the fact that he had called thunder when he broke her bow made that very clear and the scariest part was that very few people had ever seen him and lived.

He stood at almost six and a half feet tall and looked like he weight almost as much as the satyr he had just ruthlessly beaten. He was wearing a long coat that looked to be made out of a dark blue and reached to the ground. It was frayed at the bottom and at the end of the sleeves but it only served to cement that this was the wizard of the north. The coat was his signature attire. And only a few traders that meet with him and lived were able to tell of it. Some even tried to make their own versions of it.

Falaah was broken from her fear-induced paralysis when she saw that he was walking over to her. She wanted to run but she knew from the legends that he could kill her if she did. All she could hope for was that he was feeling merciful.

As he drew closer he placed his weapon back in its sheath and reached under his beard that went almost to the bottom of her ribs and pulled out a pipe that he then placed in his mouth. He pulled a small wooden stick from a box in one of his pockets he then dragged it across the sheath of his weapon. Falaah saw that he had several of them on him two on his belt and one under each of his arms.

After he dragged the small stick the end of it burst into flames, flames that he then used to light his pipe. Once he was done he shook his hand and the fire went out before he tossed the stick aside. Now he was standing in front her and he took a long breath through his pipe before saying. "Do you know where I can find High King Peter the magnificent?"

His voice was deep and he spoke with an accent that Falaah had never heard before.

She wanted to answer him but she thought better of it since he may not be an ally of Peter. "Why do you want to know?" she asked.

It was at this time that she noticed Edmund had come when he heard the blast and was now approaching the wizard from behind. All his focus was on her so he didn't seem to notice him.

She saw Edmund draw a dagger with his right hand and attempt to stab him from behind. And he almost did before the wizard spun to his left using the back of his left forearm to deflect the thrust and thrusting his right arm between Edmund's legs as he simultaneously dropped to a knee. His right hand grabbed the back of Edmund's trousers as he rammed his head into Edmund's chest knocking him off balance.

Once this was done he stood up fast stepping around Edmund's right side and pulling hard on Edmund's belt effectively pulling Edmund's hips over his own head and them dropped him head first to the ground.

By now Falaah had reached for an arrow and was going to stab him when he took a half step away and drew one of his weapons in his right and left hands. He pointed the one in his right at Falaah stopping her attack and planted his left boot on Edmund's chest before leveling the second weapon on the boy's head.

"Okay, maybe I should restate myself. I am looking for High King Peter the Magnificent. Now I am also running out of weapons so we need to figure out whose side we are all on or I need to start killing people." he said. His voice was dripping with anger he clearly wasn't happy that Edmund had tried to stab him.

An arrow landed in the grass just in front of his right foot. When Falaah looked at where it came from she saw Susan standing in a window with her own bow. "Or, I could kill YOU and save everyone else a lot of trouble." her tone told Falaah that she was serious. Susan had killed to save Edmund once and she would do it again.

The wizard smiled and adjusted his grip on his weapons. Falaah didn't know what he did but she knew by the spiteful look on his face that it wasn't good. "Maybe," he said. "But if I die then these two will too. Do you want that? Or do you want to tell where I can find High King Peter the Magnificent?"

From her place in the window, Susan answered. " I am High Queen Susan the Gentle, anything you have for my brother you can say to me."

By now the guards had swarmed the yard there were centaurs, satyrs, and minotaurs. All encircling him they looked ready to pounce when Susan warned them. "Stay back, the only thing keeping them alive is the fact that we are negotiating."

They did not like it but they all stood their ground not moving forward. "Ain't you a smart girl, if you're the high Queen then I guess I can talk to you. But only under friendlier circumstances."

He could tell that he had not exactly earned any goodwill today so he lowered the weapon he had pointed at Falaah and said "I know that I have been a bad guest but I can assure you that I was only acting reactively and that I don't actually want to hurt any of you. I am indeed here for a meeting that I have scheduled with the High King,"

Susan looked to her left and said something that couldn't be heard in the courtyard. After a moment she turned back and looking to Orieus she said " he is here on the High King's invitation. This had all just been a misunderstanding. Once he gets off of King Edmund let him be." she then looked back to the wizard and said. " and as for YOU, you will follow king Edmund to my study and then we will talk but make no mistake you are on very, very, thin ice. So behave yourself."

He nodded and sheathed his other weapon helping Edmund to his feet before saying. "That sounds more than fair you majesty I look forward to our meeting." as he finished speaking he smiled winked one of his eyes at Susan who simply huffed in annoyance and closed the window.

The guards slowly dispersed but they all kept a wary eye on the man. It was clear that they did not trust him after he attacked a member of the royal family but since the High Queen told them to let him be they would obey her command.

"If you would please follow me," Edmund said as he lead the man into the castle Falaah had her interest peaked with the wizard who was here for a meeting with the High King. so she followed after them both. The trip was silent until they were at the door of the study.

"My sister will be waiting for you inside if you lay a hand on her…" Edmund was trying to threaten the wizard but was cut off when the wizard said.

"You'll what try and stab me in the back again. Cause that went SO well for you the first time," he said with this distinct accent.

All at once Edmund seemed to recognize it asking. "What part of Narnia were you born in?"

The Wizard laughed and answered with. " a small town called Cohoes, New York"

Falaah didn't recognize that place but then again he was a wizard so she didn't expect to understand too much of what he said. But Edmund did and he asked him again. " there is no such land in Narnia, where did you learn of it?"

The wizard laughed once more. " that's because it isn't in Narnia, it's in a country known as…"

Now it was the wizard's turn to be interpreted as Susan had heard the conversation and came to the door. She must have heard enough to know what he was going to say as she finished his sentence saying. "America, namely the United States of America. The accent was a give away"

The wizard smiled and said. "Pretty and smart," once more he winked at her only for Susan to huff and say.

"Typical American full of bravado and with the subtlety of a bomb.

The wizard's grin left and was replaced by an annoyed frown when he fired back saying. " typical Brit, speaking injudiciously and in such a peremptory tone"

There was clear shock on Susan's face and while Falaah didn't know exactly what his words meant she could guess they weren't that kind. "M'lady. It is foolish to assume that just because I do not always speak in an educated manner that I lack the higher education that spent many years of my life working to achieve." he continued

Now there was a new look in Susan's eye. There was the usual frustration that seemed to emanate from her every time she had to talk to him but there was also a small modicum of respect. She gestured for him to follow her into the study and when Falaah and Edmund tried to enter they were meet with a door being firmly closed in their faces.

…

Susan lead the man over to the chairs where she had been sitting when she heard the bang of this man's gun. "Okay, you have my attention. Who are you?" she asked.

He offered a mysterious grin as he answered. "My name is Simon Moses Novack. And I am a maker and provider of fine and deadly weapons."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Peter made sure to smile as he rode back through the gates of Cair Paravel. In truth smiling was the last thing he wanted to do. He had lost good men on this trip. And all so that the Calormen would know that Narnian land was not to be trespassed on.

He could still hear the screams on both his men and the Calormen soldiers. The battle was brief and fierce. Peter's guard outnumbered the invaders a hefty three to one. When the battle started to turn in Peter's favor the Calormen captain took his four best men and made a run for Peter. He hoped that if he could kill their king the Narnian's may lose heart and retreat.

Two of his men never made it to Peter. Of the two that survived the onslaught of arrows and spears, one was ripped from his horse by a Fawn. The other was dispatched with a flash of Orieus' steel.

The captain found himself alone behind the Narian lines. His men were all dead he closed his eyes and waited for his end to come in a hail of bolts and arrows. Yet no bolts were fired nor arrows loosed.

He opened his eyes to see Peter dismount his horse and approach him. Once Peter was twenty paces from the captain he raised his visor. The shock was clearly seen as the Man saw the rumors of the Narnian boy-king were true. He may not have expected Peter to be as old as the Tisroc. But he certainly didn't expect to see a boy less than twenty years of age standing across from him.

"You can be spared," Peter said. He didn't want to spill any more blood than needed. "Just get on a horse and ride home. In his heart, Peter knew that the captain would never do so. His men had all fought to the death and he would do the same.

"No," the Captain said. "I can't be spared. If I return home like this then I will be executed for failing."

Peter understood nodding as he lowered his visor. He would have offered to take the captain into Narnia as a prisoner but they both knew that if that happened then the Tisroc would only kill the captain's family so the next person he sent would fight even harder.

No, this captain needed to die. And Peter would give him the honor of dying in a fair duel. Peter turned to his horse and motioned for him to step back. The horse turned and walked ten paces back giving them room to fight.

The captain seemed to be studying Peter's horse intently for a time before he asked him . " son, where did you get that scarf?"

Peter looked at his horse and saw one of Lucy's scarves was tucked into the back of his saddle. He looked back to the captain and answered. "I honestly have no idea."

Had they not be about to kill each other they may have laughed at the way they were plainly speaking.

The captain gripped his buckler in his left hand as he drew his scimitar with his right saying. "If you live through this, find who put that there and marry her."

Peter didn't know what to make of what the captain had said but he could tell that the time of words was over so he slid down his visor and drew his sword. Peter chose not to use his shield in this fight as he was certain he would be victorious with or without it and he wanted to avoid shaming the captain by defeating him in seconds.

Peter knew that it was a morbid thought but he wanted to allow the man to fight for a few minutes before he died. That way he would be remembered for bravely fighting until the bitter end.

The captain opened with an aggressive style. He would need to. He was the older man and would tire first were the battle to drag on. The captain swung down in a left to right diagonal cut. Peter countered by moving his thumb from the handle to rest on the flat of the blade. This allowed him to spin his blade in a move similar to a sheilhau. Peter moved to follow through and strike the captain on his head.

The captain, in turn, brought his buckler up to block Peter's arm. Peter saw that the captain drop his scimitar down to draw cut at Peter's gut. Peter countered by grabbing the Captain's right elbow. He was able to trap the sword arm but Peter couldn't attack with his sword. Instead, he once again used the thumb grip and spun his wrist counterclockwise at the other side of the captain's head.

The captain used his buckler to divert the strike to his arm instead. With his damage dealt Peter stepped around the captain's right side and shoved him back. In response to the level of opposition, he was facing the captain drew his dagger in a reversed grip. He now waited for Peter to attack in the hopes of catching a clean counter.

Peter cut down and to the right in order to draw out a parry attempt. Instead, the captain came up and forced Peter's blade across his body. At the same time, he swung his left hand in a hooking motion looking to cut Peter with his knife. Peter only had a once choice. He turned counterclockwise into the captain. Slamming his shoulders into the older man's chest.

At that moment this made Peter swung his own sword in a clockwise fashion around the captain's arm wrenching the scimitar from his hand. While his right hand did this Peter's left hand slipped under the edge of the buckler and grabbed the Captain's gauntlet to keep him from using the knife.

The captain had no answer for Peter's unorthodox attack. He had never seen anything like it before. He tried to get his left hand free and was reaching for Peter's dagger when Peter smashed his right elbow into the captain's nose. The damage dealt by the blow was purely cosmetic but it did give Peter the chance to release the left gauntlet safely before spinning clockwise and resting the tip of his blade on the captain's throat.

There was a tense pause as the captain waited for Peter to thrust his blade forward and kill him. When the captain looked into Peter's eyes he saw why he had yet to die. There was a clear conflict in the boy king's gaze. Over the past several seconds the captain had earned Peter's respect and now Peter was giving him one last chance to live.

It was still hopeless. The captain would die here at Peter's blade or back home at the Tisroc's. there was still a way that he could die with honor and without forcing a boy to kill him. He closed his eyes and lunged forward impaling himself on Peter's sword.

Peter was shaken from his thought by the sound of cheers and when he looked around he saw that he was still on the streets of Cair Paravel. He wondered if anyone had noticed that he was lost in thought or not but chose not to dwell on it.

Peter put on his forced smile and waved as he passed through the gates into the castle grounds. He dismounted and turned to Cetus. "Cetus, help Orieus with the wounded," he said. The battle was one-sided and they all survived but a few of the Narnian's were injured in the fighting.

Peter looked around for Susan and instead he found Edmund and Lucy waiting from him to finish his post-battle routine. He walked to the armory and took off his armour asking the smiths to repair any damages.

With that handled he next headed to his room. He drew Rhindon in order to clean it. He paused when he saw the dried blood from the Calormen captain on the upper portion. He knew that he would need to think about that but he also knew that Edmund and Lucy had been waiting to tell him something.

Sheathing Rhindon with a sigh Peter turned to them and asked. "Alright what is it?"

Instantly Lucy was speaking as fast as she could. "Can we keep him, Peter, please please please." it took Peter a moment to realize what she was asking him.

"Keep who?" Peter said with a smile. He always liked watching Lucy get this excited. She looked so cute.

Edmund stepped in saying. "While you were gone a man arrived looking for you. He and Susan have been arguing for the past day."

Peter heard that and needed to do a double take. He heard that Susan was arguing with someone but he had a hard time believing it. No one had ever shown the patience or will to maintain an argument with her for any length of time.

Lucy could see that Peter was confused so she kept going. "He came here to meet with you. He said his name was Simon and he was here to meet with you."

Peter's eyes shot open as he remembered what that he was supposed to meet with a man named Simon Moses Novac on the day that he left. That was about a day and a half ago. Peter looked at Edmund and asked him. "Where are they and what are they doing?"

"They are in her study and all I have been able to hear is a lot of shouting. I don't think they are getting along." Edmund said as he began to follow Peter towards Susan's study.

They reached the door and stopped when they didn't hear any yelling coming from the room. Peter motioned for Lucy and Edmund to stay put as he slowly opened the door. Peter was worried that he would find one of them dead but instead, he saw Susan asleep in her chair. Looking around the room he saw a large man who was asleep in one of the other chairs.

Susan looked graceful with her head lightly hung forward and her hands in her land. The man Peter presumed was Simon had his head tipped over the back of his chair. He also had his feet up on one of Susan's tables. She wasn't going to be happy about that.

Peter cleared his throat and both of them jolted awake. They had no sooner made eye contact they started to argue.

"And another thing," the man yelled. "If it weren't for men like me, women like you couldn't exist. You would have been enslaved or slain years ago."

Susan huffed and went to respond. Before she could he turned to Peter and asked. "YOU sensible human being. Tell this woman that my profession is no eviler than that of the High King who is off waging war somewhere."

Peter thought for a moment and answered. " Well, what is your profession?"

"I am a weaponsmith," he said. He looked Peter over and asked. "Who are you anyway?"

Peter smiled and said. "I am the High King. I just got back from waging war."

The man looked slightly sheepish at the way he was speaking moments ago. His usual face returned quickly. He held out his hand and said. "My name is Simon Moses Novac. I set up a meeting with you."

Peter nodded and looked at Susan. He considered asking her to leave but he knew that she would never consider it on a good day and this was not a good day. "Please follow me," he said as he left the room.

Simon and Peter both left the study and made their way to Peter's room. Once they were inside Peter turned and said. "So you are Simon Moses Novac. You said that you had weapons for me to see."

Simon nodded and scratched his ten-inch beard. "I am," he said. Reaching into his jacket he pulled out a what Peter recognized as a revolver. "This is a Walker Colt chambered in .44 caliber. It can kill through most armour from over fifty feet." He handed Peter the gun and said. "Based off of what your sister said I assume you know how it does that."

Peter felt the heavy weapon and looked like it was old. He handed the weapon back and said. "I don't understand what that has to do with our discussion?"

The man nodded and responded with " I am a weaponsmith and I can make more of these. Do you want them?"

Peter needed to think for a moment. He knew how much of a game changer guns would be in Narnia. It would make Narnia the most powerful kingdom in the world. On the other hand, it would be like introducing the snake into the garden on Eden. Guns make the whole world more dangerous. Almost anyone can use one. they required little to no training. And they were disturbingly easy to mass produce.

Peter wanted to turn him down. But if he did then he would be risking this man going to the Calormen and offering them the same deal. A deal Peter knew that the Tisroc would accept it and then Narnia would be in immense danger.

Peter only had three options. He could take the deal and start the world down the path of war. He could turn him down and start a war with his people being at the disadvantage. Or he could kill Simon and destroy the weapons that could change the world forever.

Peter felt his hand drifting towards Rhindon. He thought about how he could kill Simon and then he thought about the blood still dried to the edge. All at once he realized what he was thinking. He was about to kill someone for knowing too much. He was about to commit murder because of the things Simon could do not what he had done.

It made his stomach churn. He had to fight the urge to show his own sickness in front of Simon. He knew that he had to make a choice. It wasn't an easy one but it had to be made. " I am afraid that I can't in good conscience do that. There is too much risk to the world."

Peter expected Simon to leave but instead, he smiled. " that is good news." He reached out and grabbed Peter's shoulder. " I never planned to sell you my guns. If you had said yes I was gonna leave and never come back."

Peter was shocked. "They why did you come here?" he asked. Peter didn't like being toyed with and lied to and so far this man had done both of those things.

"I wanted to see if I could trust you," Simon said. " If the time ever comes that my guns are needed then I will give them to you. But I am also a talented Blacksmith who can make considerably better metal than any smith you have now." he handed Peter a knife that he also had in his coat.

Peter held the blade and saw that it was made of a metal that almost matched Rhindon for its quality. "Can you make more of these?" Peter asked.

"I can," Simon replied. "I have two conditions," he said. "Peter raised his eyebrow at him

"What might that be?" the High King asked. He wanted to know what he would be getting into.

"My room and forge are U.S. territory. And I am to be treated as a U.S. citizen. I don't mind following the laws but I would be doings so out of courtesy not submission/ after all I am not one of your subjects." Simon said

Peter thought about it and made his choice. "That sounds fair." he answered. Peter wanted to have a man like Simon as an ally and it would also be nice to have someone who could keep his ego in check.

Simon nodded in thanks before making his way out of the room heading for the workshops. This confused Peter since he had been told that Simon arrived and went straight to Susan's study to argue. "Do you know where you are going?" Peter asked.

Simon answered without turning to face the High King. " Of course I do. When I got here you were nowhere to be found so I showed myself around."

Up until now Peter had tried to ignore Simon's brash attitude but now it had gone to far. "No," he said. When Simon stopped and turned around Peter continued. "You may not be one of my subjects but you are still in MY kingdom and My castle. You will show me the respect I am due even if I need to beat it into you." Peter did not know why he was getting as aggressive as he was but he knew that the next ten seconds would be critical to every interaction the he had with Simon from now on.

Simon stepped closer to Peter and in spite of the fact that a small crowd had been watching and was now waiting for the high King to act Simon responded. "Really pretty boy, just what are you gonna do about it." Simon's voice deepened as his thick Texan accent shone through and a cocky smile spread across his face.

Peter recognized what was happening. They were both trying to be in charge of their interaction. Peter had trained himself to maintain dominance as the High King of Narnia. And Simon was a man who made a living being confident in himself. They both wanted to be the alpha in the room and they couldn't keep coexisting without knowing who was the best.

It may have been a basic matter of men needing to fight it out. But they needed to get it out of their system. The small crowd was so nervous that the tension could have been cut with a knife.

Peter and Simon agreed without a word that they needed to settle this matter. And so they set about finding a suitable place to do so. They came upon Peter's personal training room. The stepped inside and just as Edmund who had been told what was going on arrived they closed the door. They were alone in that room with the crowd now gathered around the large wooden door. This was a matter between them and they would settle it as such.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Several hours had passed since Peter and Simon had entered Peter's training room. Most of the crowd had left. All that remained was the Oreius, Cetus, Susan, and Falaah. When the door slowly started to open both Oreius and Cetus rested their hands on their weapons. Peter had failed to consult either of them about this impromptu fight.

They were worried about their High King getting into a fight with a stranger. But when the door was opened they saw Peter and Simon both standing with their arms over each other's shoulders. Simon had a busted lip and a black eye. While Peter had a limp and his right arm wasn't moving. Falaah rushed over to Peter to see if he was okay. Susan wanted to as well but for now, she was too busy scolding him and Simon.

"What is wrong with you two," she said. She looked at Peter and said. "You are a High King and you need to act like it you can't go around roughhousing with every man who annoys you." she quickly swiveled her head to Simon. "And you!" she yelled her frustration with the man being on plain display. "How dare you brawl with the High King of the land you snuck into. Have you no decency!"

Peter had no clear answer for her so he simply stood and waited for her to stop talking so he could politely head to his room. As he was leaving Peter turned to Simon and said. " I expect to see you in the forge tomorrow morning."

Simon offered a wordless salute with the first two fingers of his right hand. He then turned back to Susan. "As for what you said, young lady…" before he could continue he heard a growl from Cetus that drew attention. "Can I help you?" Simon asked.

"She is High Queen Susan." the satyr growled.

Simon chuckled lightly saying. " maybe to you, but I have no Queen. High or otherwise."

Now it was time for Oreius to speak. He stepped over to stand beside Cetus and said. "she may not be your Queen, but she IS mine. So you will show her the respect she is due."

Simon's eyes narrowed as he responded. " I have shown her more respect than a person who has spoken to me as she has is due."

He turned back to Susan saying. " I will fight with who I like when I like. Do you understand me."

Susan was dumbstruck who did this fool think he was. " Is it typical for an American to show no reverence to their hosts?"

Simon countered with " only when they behave in a manner akin to that of bratty children."

Susan looked ready to scream when Lucy stepped in. Mr. Tuminus had offered to wait up for the fight to end and to get Lucy after it was over. Lucy appreciated the offer and since the fight had lasted for over five hours she was glad she did not stand around waiting for it to finish.

"Susan, Simon," she said her voice more like a mother scolding her bickering children than a sister or a queen. Looking to Simon she said " Simon you may not be Narnian but you still need to behave yourself." looking to Susan she said. "Susan, he is not one of your subjects. He owes you nothing."

With that said she headed back to her duties for the day. It was nearly time for dinner so she was going to run a few errands and then head to bed for the night.

…

Peter was limping down the halls of Cair Paravel. His room was just around the corner from where he and Simon had just fought. He hoped that he could make it to his room without getting help. He was putting on a brave face but on the inside, he was in an insane amount of pain. Fighting Simon was one of the hardest things he could remember doing.

He had given as good as he had gotten but his shoulder and leg still hurt. During the fight, Simon had gotten a hold of one of Peter's legs and he did some kind of twisting motion that resulted in Peter almost giving up. Thankfully he had managed to wrench his leg free with the use of a and placed kick.

A similar thing had happened to Peter's right arm. That was after Peter had busted up Simon's lip with a right straight. They had kept fighting for several more hours after that and now Peter and Simon were both tired.

Peter rounded the corner and saw the door of his room. He was less than twenty feet from it when his knee twisted and the pain from the attack Simon had used came back with vengeance. Peter's leg gave out and he dropped to his knee and had to lean on the wall in order to avoid falling down.

He hissed in pain and was contemplating getting Rhindon and killing Simon for the pain he was in but thought better of it. He had just spent several hours bonding with the man and killing him would make that time a waste.

Peter felt a hand on his shoulder and looked to see Falaah kneeling next to him. She hooked her right shoulder under Peter's left and helped him back to his feet. Once they had made it inside of his room Peter sat down at his desk and began to rub his leg.

"Why would you let him do that to you your majesty?" she asked. Clearly wondering why Simon was allowed to injure a member of the royal family and still live. If anyone ever laid a hand on the Tirsoc without his permission he may have them killed. Or worse sent to serve as slaves in the mines.

"I have told you about calling me that," Peter said. His tone showed that he was mildly annoyed that she kept talking to him as though he were royalty. Falaah made a mental note to work on that but before she could say anything else Peter continued. " and as for why Simon isn't currently being buried somewhere outside of the city right now. I agree to fight him. So we have fought. In that fight, I was hurt. I have no right to seek vengeance against him. Besides I am pretty sure that I broke one or two of his ribs"

Once again this High King surprised her. He was a warrior but he was also capable of mercy, She was beginning to think that she made the right choice in staying so she was ready to finally tell them who she was.

Before she could she heard Peter grunt in pain and when she looked to him she saw him holding his leg and wincing. Without a second thought, she left to go find the garden. She was an aspiring alchemist and she was fairly certain she knew a way to help Peter's leg.

She worked up a paste that when applied to the leg should help with the pain. She placed the paste into a small jar and headed back to Peter's room. When she arrived Falaah saw that Peter had somehow managed to limp to his bed. He wasn't under his blankets but he was at least out of his shirt.

Falaah made a fact of not staring at him. She did, however, catch a glimpse of the scars on his arm and side. He had earned them in his fight with Jadis. It made Falaah smile to see a High King who was willing to fight tooth and nail for his people. It also made her start to think about him in a new way. Her new line of thought both shocked and scared her. She left the jar on his desk with a quickly scrawled out note. She needed time to contemplate just what she was thinking about.

Peter was back on the battlefield. Cetus and Oreius were fighting with Jadis and he was about to strike. When he saw Falaah. She was standing in front of him where Jadis stood a moment before. Her eyes were bright and a sweet smile was on her face. Peter froze uncertain what to do or what was happening.

Peter's uncertainty turned to fear when he saw Falaah thrust a sword out at him. It was Jadis' blade but in Falaah's hand. Peter barely managed to parry the thrust before Falaah's smile dropped and a snarl took its place.

She attacked with all the speed and power that the Witch had only seconds ago. Peter had no idea what was happening. His training told him to fight back and he did. He swung back aiming to remove Falaah's sword arm from the rest of her. When she tried to parry the strike her blade was wrenched from her grip and landed several feet from her in the dirt.

Peter's instincts kept going and in one swift motion, he stabbed Rhindon through Falaah's chest and into her heart. Peter saw fear in her eyes as she fell backward off of Peter's sword.

A new pain grew in Peter. He didn't have time to think about it as Jadis was back and she was coming at him a sword in each hand.

Peter sat up and swung Rhindon at the space Jadis' head had been moments before. When he was met with only bedpost he stopped and breathed. There was a sound coming from his closed window and when Peter turned he heard it again. It sounded like a stone being thrown. Peter limped over and looked out to see Simon standing on the ground below his window. He had a pack over his shoulder and a rope in his hands.

Peter opened his window and heard Simon say. " hey Pete step back from the window." trusting Simon Peter stepped back and after a second a steel three-pronged grappling hook was thrown through. It locked on the window sill and the rope went tight as Simon started to climb.

When Simon had made it through the window Peter asked. " didn't I brake at least one of your ribs?" Simon answered Peter's question when he got his feet under him and limped to a chair holding his side.

"you did," Simon said. "You have a strong right hand but your left still needs work. "

Peter laughed At the way Simon broke down the fight they had. Peter had learned that Simon was a very experienced unarmed fighter. He had belts in martial arts called Tomari-te, and Shuri-te. As well as a lot of practice in what he called Catch Wrestling.

Peter had a much more brawler style of unarmed fighting. He didn't have the precision that Simon did but he had experience being unorthodox. That had been what saved him against the Calormen captain and it was what helped him to break Simon's ribs with a right hand to the body.

Peter limped over to his bed to get a stool. Once there he found a jar with a note it was from Falaah. It said that the ointment in the jar could help with his leg if he rubbed it where it was hurting.

Peter made a mental note to use that later as he dragged a chair over to his desk to sit next to Simon. Simon for his part reached into his bag and pulled out a wrapped mound of dried and spiced beef that had been cut into strips. He handed some to Peter who gladly accepted the jerky. It was chewy but it was supposed to be so Peter appreciated it. He savored the flavors of the various spices that Simon had added.

After he took a few bites Simon reached into his bag and pulled out a corked bottle as well as two glasses. He uncorked the bottle and poured an amber liquid into them both. He offered Peter one of the glasses and without thinking, Peter downed the drink. He then proceeded to almost vomit. He looked at Simon and saw him drink from his glass. Peter thought for a moment that he may have just been poisoned but Simon drank from his glass so it was unlikely. Peter managed to swallow and asked Simon. "What was that!?"

Simon laughed as he said. "That's my bad I should have warned you about that." he picked up the bottle and said, " this is whiskey, I made it myself."

Peter's shock faded a little he knew that whiskey was but he had never had it before. It was certainly a unique taste. Not necessarily a bad taste but a unique one. He put down the glass uncertain if he wanted to drink anymore. He had no idea what his personal tolerance was certain that the High King of Narnia should not be getting drunk with a stranger that he was fighting with less than a day ago.

Peter was still unaware if he should trust Simon fully. The man had spent several hours fighting hard but was that a good metric by which to measure his character. Anyone was capable of fighting. Does that mean that he should be trusted?

Peter kept eating the meat in silence. Simon did the same. When it was clear that Peter had no interest in finishing his whiskey Simon took his glass and downed the rest in one smooth gulp. He recorked the bottle and returned the bottle and beef to his bag before he made his way back to the window and without a word, he grabbed the rope and rappeled to the ground. Simon disappeared off into the late hours of the morning.

Peter limped to his bed and after trying to roll up his pant leg he simply took his pants off altogether. He rubbed the ointment on his knee where the pain was the worst and waited. After a few minutes, the pain seemed to dull. It was enough that Peter was able to get to his feet and make his way out into the rest of the castle.

He made his way to the armory where he chose to finally sit down and clean Rhindon. It had been too long and the sword was fighting his already aching muscles as he drew it and began to wash the blade.

After almost ten minutes of work, the blade was finally cleaned. Peter sheathed his sword and made his way back to his room. He finished getting himself dressed as he had chosen to get an early start to the day. Peter was standing in the throne room looking out over the moonlight sea. He had much to think about and he wanted to spend this time doing just that. Peter knew that he needed to send Falaah back to her homeland. If he kept her here it would be giving the Tirsoc the perfect reason to invade Narnia.

Peter also knew that Falaah wanted to stay here. That was obvious to him. She may have thought that he missed her tucking a scarf into his saddle but Peter knew that there were times that feigning innocence was the smartest move he could make. The words of the Calormen captain still rang in his mind.

"If you live through this, find who put that there and marry her." he had said. Peter may have been more of a fighter than a thinker but he was smart enough to understand that what Falaah had done most likely carried serious implications in her homeland. The thing that was vexing him was that he had no idea why she would do that. A part of him wanted to say that she was interested in him in a romantic way. But the High King in him knew better than to think like that. She was probably trying to do something she could point to afterward in case she needed to argue her way into staying. Falaah was a smart girl and she was more than able to try and keep her options open until she knew more about Narnia.

Peter knew what he had to do. Falaah needed to go back to the Calormen Empire. Peter needed to protect Narnia. The Narnians had put their faith in him and he needed to make sure that their faith had not been miss placed.

He made his way back to his room and sat back down at his desk he began to write a letter he planned to send to the Tirsoc apologizing for the kidnapping. He had just begun to place quill to paper when he heard small footsteps behind him. When Peter turned he saw Lucy. but there was something wrong. Peter had no idea why Lucy would even be up at this hour but there was something else. Peter was unable to tell what it was but it was there. One of her hands was tucked behind her back which made Peter even more curious.

Peter tried to speak to her when she was within arm's length from him. His attempt was stifled when Lucy pulled a dagger out from behind her back and tried to stab at his throat. Peter acted on instinct when he grabbed Lucy's hand and forced the knife away from himself.

Without missing a beat Lucy dropped the knife and caught it in her other hand. She tried to stab Peter again so he once more parried. This time he cut his left hand. Nothing serious but still a sign that he couldn't do this forever.

Peter's training was telling him to kill this attacker but it was Lucy. he could never hurt her. Just then Peter heard a scream and saw Falaah and Lucy standing in his doorway. Seeing Lucy with Falaah told Peter that the person he was fighting with was most definitely not his sister. And that made things much simpler.

Peter held the imposter's hand long enough to make her transition back to her main hand only for Peter to grab that hand first and then with all his might squeeze. He heard a disturbing pop as the small person's wrist fractured. There was a shriek that left the imposter's mouth. A shriek that was quickly silenced when Peter smashed his fist into her throat. The imposter slumped to the ground clutching at her trachea. It would do no good. Peter had collapsed her trachea she was a dead woman now. Soon she had stopped moving and Peter turned his focus back to Lucy and Falaah.

Falaah pointed to the curtain on one of Peter's bedroom windows. Peter looked and saw the slightest signs of feet at the base. He silently drew Rhindon and yanked the curtains back to reveal someone who looked just like him with a sword that looked just like Rhindon.

Without hesitation, the second imposter drew his sword and began to attack. Peter managed to parry his first left to right slash by deflecting it up stepping wide to the attacker's left. The imposter went to follow up with a stab but Peter had already countered by running his sword through the man's side. The man slumped against the window sill. His training telling him to keep going. Right until his body finally gave out and he died on the floor.

Peter turned to Falaah and Lucy and saw that they both had their knives drawn. He also saw that there was blood on them. "You too huh," he asked. When he got an affirmative nod. Peter took off at a sprint. He needed to get to Susan and Edmund.

With Falaah and Lucy close behind Peter kicked Edmund's door open to find Edmund sitting on his bed cleaning his sword while a dead imposter of Peter and Edmund lay on the stone floor. Peter almost asked him how he knew when he heard a scream from Susan's room. Followed by the sounds of rapid gunfire.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Peter kicked in the door of Susan's room and almost walked into the muzzle of Simon's gun.

"What is the name of one of the major British firearms manufactures.?" Simon asked.

Peter understood what was happening. There was an imposter of Edmund Susan on the floor with several bullet holes in them and Susan was clinging to Simon with eyes that were filled with panic and fear. "Enfield," Peter answered.

Simon motioned with his pistol leading Peter to stepped deeper into the room allowing Edmund to step in.

Simon leveled his gun on Edmund and asked him. "Which King did America win their independence from?"

Edmund thought for less than a second before he responded "George."

Simon motioned for him to move and he did. Then came Lucy who actually stepped into the line of Simon's gun hoping to earn his trust.

"Name two countries from Europe, you can't say England," he ordered.

Lucy looked Simon in the eyes and said. " Germany and France."

Simon motioned her into the room and holstered his weapon. It was at this moment that Susan seemed to realize that Peter was in the room as she let go of Simon and quickly attached herself to Peter's side.

Peter looked at the bodies and saw that both of them had been shot twice in the chest and once in the head. "What happened here?" Peter asked Susan.

When she looked at him Peter noticed that Susan's clothes had been torn and when he looked back at the imposter of Edmund he saw that the imposter's belt was unbuckled and his pants were loose. Peter felt a wave of anger wash over him. If the man wasn't dead already he may have cut his guts out.

Susan for her part tried to answer him but she was still too shaken to talk. Peter understood she would need a few minutes to return to her normal self. He turned to Simon and asked him. "What happened here?"

Simon was about to answer when Susan spoke up. "I was asleep when Edmund started to knock on my door. When I opened the door he forced his way in Peter he… he was going to."

Peter cut her off by holding her tighter and saying. " I understand Su I am gonna get to the bottom of this." Peter's voice started out gentle and by the time he was done speaking it was almost a growl. Someone had sent assassins after his family and if this was the Tirsoc then there was going to be a WAR.

Peter had already seen how Calormen reacted to Narnian soldiers. It would be bloody and short but after he obliterated the Calormen nobody would dare attack HIS family again.

Peter was about to tell Simon to get the bodies out of the room to see that he was carrying one and Edmund was dragging another. It wasn't lost on Peter that Edmund was silent. That combined with the glare on his brother's face told the High King that his brother was also furious.

Soon the room was empty except for Peter and Susan. Susan started to let go of Peter and for a moment she hesitated. Then in an act that showed her usual majestic stoicism, she let go of Peter and said. "Thank you for your help Peter but I think I can handle things from her."

Peter knew that she wasn't okay. She had just almost been raped by someone who had somehow disguised themselves to look like her brother. She would need some help and she would never be who she used to be.

Peter hated himself for not being able to help her more but there only so much he could do. Peter left the room and found Simon holding Falaah's upper body out of a window with one of his guns in her face.

Peter grabbed for his sword and was about to kill Simon when the large man hauled Falaah back inside. They both seemed to notice Peter at the same time and it was Simon who spoke first. " I know who attacked your kin."

Peter felt the anger he had for Simon freeze. "What do you mean?" Peter growled.

"Tell him," Simon growled looking at Falaah.

Falaah held her head low saying. " those where members of the Tirsoc's assassins league. They specialize in infiltration and execution. The work in teams of two. One kills the target and the other, normally the more skilled person pretends to be them for a few days in order to do as much damage to the kingdom as they can. They normally attack just before an invasion."

Peter was furious before but he was beyond words now. The Tirsoc had gone after his family and his people. Peter could not allow that to go unpunished.

"Simon," Peter said. " I want those guns. The time has come to destroy the Calormen Empire."

Simon's reply was a swift and simple one. "No,"

Peter stared at Simon with the burning rage of a thousand suns but Simon held the High King's gaze. "What do you mean NO?" Peter asked. He was trying to give Simon a chance to rethink what he had said just said.

"You don't need them. We are aware the attack is coming and we have a more organized military than they are expecting. I will fight them with you but not by giving you MY guns." Simon said.

Peter felt his blood begin to boil, a Calorman assassin had tried to violate his sister. There would be blood. He would destroy them wholesale. There was no other possible outcome. "I WANT THOSE GUNS!" he yelled.

Simon kept his cool and responded. " The fact that you are as mad as you are is the very reason that you will never get MY guns."

Peter took a step closer to Simon trying to intimidate the larger man. His eyes narrowed as he said. "Simon, I am telling you to give me the guns."

Simon's eyes also narrowed. "No chance in Hell," he answered.

Peter looked ready to start a fight but before he could Edmund suddenly forced himself between the two of them.

"Well now, what have we here? The High King and Royal Weaponsmith about to get into a brawl in the middle of the Hallway. Gentlemen, we should probably avoid that." He spoke as he softly pushed the two men apart. It was a risky move on his part as if these two started to fight then he would be caught in the middle of it and was gonna end up getting beaten.

Luckily the two men seemed to calm down with neither of them really wanting to get into another fight since they were both still recovering from both their several hour long spar. As well as the small fight with the assassins.

"We will talk more about this in the morning," Peter said, turning and walking away. It was a clear power play and one that Simon chose not to answer. He was in Peter's Castle after all and he should act like it.

Peter was almost to his room when he had to use one of his hands to lean on the wall. His heart was racing but he didn't know why. His muscles all ached and he was shaking. He was just shaken by the night's events. He needed to get some sleep and he would get some soon. As he wobbled into his room was having a hard time breathing. Something was wrong but he had no idea what it was.

…

Falaah was on her way to tell Peter that Lucy was going to be sleeping with Susan and that she would be sleeping there as well when she heard a loud crash from his room.

She rushed in to find Peter collapsed on his side. When she looked him over she saw that he had some kind of frothy saliva coming out of his mouth and his pulse was weak.

"LUCY!" she screamed. " Come quick Peter's been poisoned" she waited for Lucy but she had yet to arrive. Shaking her head and making a choice Falaah took off running for the gardens. She had to act fast and even though she wanted to stay with Peter she needed to leave him to help him.

She ran through the gardens using only the moon for light. She hastily searched the garden until she found what she was looking for. Hornwort, it was a small plant that grew in warm and moist soil like that of the Cair Paravel gardens. She urgently picked several handfuls of them. She quickly ground them all up with a mortar and pestle she found among some apothecary supplies.

When she was done she dumped the paste into an infusing cage. The cage was then dropped into a bottle of water she sealed and started to shake as she ran back to Peter's room. She knew that she was too late to do anything but she had to try.

She saw Orieus standing outside of Peter's room with a somber and concerned look on his face. Falaah stopped just before she got to the door. If he was standing in the hallway and not in the room then that meant that she was too late.

The High King was dead. She slowly rounded the corner and was shocked to see Peter sitting on the edge of his bed surround his siblings. He looked tired but other than that he was fine. None of them had seen Falaah yet and when she went to speak she felt a massive hand grab her by the throat and drag her from the room. Past experience told her that Simon had questions and he was most unhappy with her. She was soon being lifted into the air by her neck as Simon pinned her against the wall. He held her at arm's length with one hand and held a knife in the other." what did you do?" he growled. Bringing the knife to rest just under the hand he had around Falaah's neck.

He loosed his grip for her to speak but instead, she held out the bottle in her hand. Simon released he causing her to drop into a heap on the floor rubbing her neck where he had been choking her.

Simon opened the bottle and smelled the contents before he leaned down and in a language, Falaah almost missed said. "You get to live this time but I am watching you, Calorwoman."

Falaah was mildly confused by the way he spoke. He used old Calormen. The language had been considered dead for nearly a century. Falaah barely understood it herself but the words and grammar were similar enough that she managed to use logic to figure them out.

When Falaah looked at Orieus she realized that he saw the whole interaction but had done nothing. She understood though and Calormen poison had been used to almost kill the High King of Narnia. She was the only living Calormen alive in the castle and she was the one who found Peter but she did so alone.

He was worried about his High King and she was the most likely threat. If the roles where reversed she might have done the same.

Falaah made her way into Peter's room just in time to have Susan and Edmund leave. Peter was in bed and Lucy was clinging to him. She was clearly scared after almost having been killed and then almost losing her big brother.

Falaah was trying to find out what she should do when Susan called out to her. "Falaah, follow me please."

Falaah noticed that the tone of the High Queen was weaker than usual. Falaah had a reasonable idea of what it was but she would need to follow Susan for now.

Susan lead Falaah to her study and once they were inside she closed the door and while doing her best not to look Falaah in the eye as she spoke. "Falaah, when you came here you had bruises on your neck and it looked like you may have been… uhm."

Falaah knew what she was getting at. She had almost been violated less than an hour ago and it was just starting to set in. that combined with Peter almost dying had her shaken and she needed someone who could help her understand what she was doing and what she needed to do.

"Susan," Falaah said as she reached out and put a hand on the High Queen's shoulder. "You are going to be alright, and so is everyone else. I know what you are feeling. It isn't going to go away. But you are stronger than it so it doesn't matter."

Falaah was lying. She was still afraid of the thought of reliving what she went through at the hands of her father and his friends. But she also knew that Peter would utterly destroy anyone who ever tried to lay a hand on Susan. And for that reason, she could tell Susan what she had.

The High Queen was trying to hide her feelings. But Falaah knew that right now she needed a friend more than anything else. Taking a large risk Falaah wrapped her arms around Susan. She felt the frightened woman flinch at the sudden contact but soon Susan returned the hug. They stay like that for a minute before they both went to wordless reading. They were doing research on the Tirsoc's assassins.

…

With the High King and his family safe, Simon made his way to the forge. If the Trisoc was coming with an army then the Narnians would need every weapon they could get their hands on.

He opened the door and set about lighting the forge. With his advanced knowledge of science, he could make high-quality blades and other weapons. But he still needed time. His work was tedious and hard but in the end, it was worth it. He could his newly crafted weapon in his hand and know that he had done a good job.

He worked throughout the rest of the morning on forging a sword. It would have taken normal man weeks to do the work he was doing now. But he had a gift from God himself. His strength. He was always strong but after he came Narnia his muscles seemed to gain an almost supernatural power.

Simon was hammering the fine metal when Lucy walked into the forge. Peter had most likely already woken up and Lucy with him. In her curiosity, she was here now. She wanted to watch him work.

She walked over to a pile of sacks that Simon had brought with him and began to look through them. She was wondering what kinds of things Simon carried around.

When she found a stone dagger she gasped. It looked just like the one that the White Witch used. The one she used to kill Aslan. "Simon," she said trying to hide her shaky voice. "Where did you get this knife?"

"I made it, why?" he asked back. Lucy gently put the dagger back down and while slightly trembling she asked. " did you," she wanted to ask but she was afraid of the answer. Ultimately she choose to get it all over with at once like a band-aid. "Simon, did you make the White Witch's dagger?"

Lucy jumped slightly as she heard the door to the forge close and then lock. When she turned to see Simon he said. " I was really hoping you weren't going to ask me that. But the answer is yes. I made Jadis' dagger and staff."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Lucy looked to see the large man who now stood before her light only by the light of the forge's fire. "I made the weapons of the Witch." his face was an unusually stoic like he was trying to figure out whether he should mad or afraid.

Lucy ran as fast as she could and in a sudden act of courage she held open her arms and wrapped them around Simon midsection. She held tight as she whispered. "Oh, Simon. What happened to you?"

When she did that the facade of stoic indifference that Simon had been working to hold up broke and he collapsed to his knees crying. The short girl held her place and just rubbed at his back while he broke down.

Lucy was waiting for an answer when she smelled a strange and sweet perfume fill the air. She recognized the smell instantly. She did not even need to turn to see Aslan standing behind her light on one side by the forge. He was watching them both in silence.

Simon seemed unaware of the lion's presence and simply continued to cry. Lucy saw the world around her fade away Simon too. All she saw now was herself and Aslan.

"I sent Simon here long, long ago." the Lion spoke. As he did the sight of Cair Paravel formed before her. Simon stood with his packs on looking at it from a hillside his bear was shorter by almost an inch. "The kingdom was about to face a grave threat and I knew that Simon would have been able to help them." the vision shifted to Jadis standing before the court of Narnia.

"I have come here to serve this land and as such, I have come to serve you." She said to the man who sat on the throne that Peter now occupied. He looked suspicious but he had no reason to distrust this pale woman so he allowed her into his court. Her wisdom was vast and with her aid, the kingdom flourished.

The vision shifted now to the King at a table looking over a map of Narnia. Jadis was on one side and Simon was on another. Jadis was pointing out possible trade routes and Simon was marking good places for fortresses to be placed to protect those trade routes.

"He was sent to help them in their battle against the Witch but he was deceived, bewitched by her beauty and her intelligence he was slowly corrupted by the White Witch.

Now the image shifted to Simon working at a forge. He was hammering away relentlessly working a piece of stone by using magic he had learned from Jadis. The Witch herself stood over his shoulder watching not him but his work she eyed the dagger with vile intent.

'For her, he crafted two weapons, a Dagger able to kill any living thing, and a staff that could be used to bring about an unending winter and turn mortal creatures to stone."

When Simon had finished the blade and staff he gave them both to Jadis who promptly killed the fawn who was standing in the room and used the staff to turn the minotaur to stone. Jadis started for the door only to stop briefly when she heard one of Simon's gun's cock.

It was clear he was having a hard time even pointing his gun at her. After all, he was in love with her. Jadis gave him a cruel sneer as she said. " you are a traitor, your blood belongs to me now. Do you really think that you can kill me? Do you think that the deep magic you just masterfully used would allow such a thing."

Simon slowly lowered his gun. She was right, as sick as it was she was right. He couldn't kill her the world itself would stop him. He knew who she was all along but had chosen to believe that she had changed. He was so blinded by her beauty that he failed to the very thing Aslan had told him to do.

"After he had made the dagger and staff his blood was owed to the Witch. She could have killed him at any time. And if she truly understood the deep magic and the man she had just tricked she would have."

The image changed to Simon running from a burning Cair Paravel. He had his pack on his back and a hammer in his hand. It as the hammer he had used to make the dagger and staff. When he stopped to look back Lucy saw a tear falling from his eye. She also saw that he looked the same as he did now.

She began to understand what Alsan had meant. Since Jadis had laid claim to Simon's life then only she could harm him. Not even time had any effect on him. The final scene Lucy saw was Simon hammering a sword. He worked on it day and night since he no longer needed to sleep.

When he was done he held it up. It was a blade fit for a king. In fact, a High King since the blade he had forged was Rhindon. He sheathed the sword and left it leaning on the lampost. It was where he had come to Narnia and since he wanted this weapon to get to Aslan this was the best way to do that.

He could have just given it to him but after his betrayal, there was no way he could face Aslan. Not after what he had done.

Lucy's sight returned to the forge and Simon seemed to notice Aslan. He stood slowly on shaky feet as he took weak steps forward. When he reached the great cat his knees gave out.

Simon looked Aslan in the eyes before burying his face in the lion's mane. His hands grabbing fistfuls of the hair. His whole body shook in pain and sadness as he sobbed. Aslan stood there in silent peace. He was letting Simon greave for the last hundred years of evil that had been his fault.

"I'm so sorry," the weeping man said. "Lord, please forgive me. You gave me but one task and I failed you."

Lucy had never heard anyone call Aslan 'Lord' before but it seemed to fit.

"Father, I have betrayed you and everything I have ever been taught. My very purpose and I cast it aside." Simon continued. As he spoke he seemed to drift further and further into hysteria.

Lucy was now a little stumped. Simon had called Aslan "Father". what did that mean? was Simon somehow the son of Aslan.

Lucy's question was answered when the lion smiled slightly and said. "I see you have figured it out."

Simon released his hold on Aslan's mane and leaned back. "yes Lord, I have." he said, he was still looking down his guilt was keeping him from making eye contact with Aslan.

the cat used one of his massive paws and lifted Simon head to meet his gaze. "Then you know that your salvation cannot be earned?"

Simon nodded his head too shaken to speak. he had accepted his fate. he had betrayed God and now he would have to accept his punishment.

Aslan spoke once more saying. " first Timothy, chapter one verse sixteen."

Simon needed a moment to realize what Aslan had said. once he recognized the command he scrambled over to his packs and began to rifle through them.

after some searching, he pulled out an old looking leather bound book. He neglected to wipe the dust off of it and on Lucy was not able to read the cover because of the thick layer.

when Simon opened it he began to flip through the thin pages until he found what he seemed to be looking for.

"read aloud please," Aslan said.

Simon took a breath to steady himself and with a clear voice he read.

"Howbeit for this cause I obtain mercy, that in me first Je'sus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting."

Lucy was more than a little confused as to what Simon was reading and what it meant. It sounded like when her father used to read from the Bible. But that had been years ago, Lucy had no idea of whether or not that was what Simon was reading now but it was her best guess.

"Do you know what that means?" Aslan asked. His tone was more of a fatherly tone that was before.

Simon only needed a moment to answer. "It means that nothing I could do could push me from your patience and love, and your forgiveness."

Aslan smiled as he dipped his head in acknowledgment. "that is correct young one." the Great Cat turned to Lucy and asked. " having heard what he had done, would you offer him your forgiveness."

Lucy thought for less than a second before saying. "If you would then so would I." she walked over and hugged Simon who by now had calmed down considerably.

when she looked back Aslan was gone. He had done what he came here to do but that would be all.

Simon was getting his feet back under him and steady as he walked to the forge preparing to get back to work. When he reached the anvil he half turned to Lucy and asked "Please don't tell anyone else, I need to tell them myself but I... I'm just not ready yet."

Lucy hugged him saying. " they need to know at some point. And I am not going to lie if they ask me but I am also not going to tell them otherwise. This is your secret, and it is safe with me."

She left him there to do his work and decided that she was going to go eat breakfast and run an errand. She needed to run that errand quickly since the others wouldn't like it but she felt that it needed to be done.

...

Peter was looking at a map of Narnia with Orieus and Cetus. They needed to be ready for the coming invasion. The biggest problem facing them was that they had no idea where the invasion would come from.

"Crossing the desert is nearly impossible for any force of a substantial size," Cetus said looking at the border of Narnia and Archenland.

"our naval power is close enough to their own that they would have no way of completely attacking through the coast," Orieus said from his place at Peter left.

From the High King's right, Edmund spoke up. " They may have sent a force in secret to the north. They could be trying to attack from Ettinsmoor?"

All eyes turned to the High King, what would he say. What would they do? It was his job to know.

"there is another option," Peter said, his hand on his still growing scruff. "they could attack through Archenland."

when Peter had finished Orieus responded. "unlikely, how would they get an army strong enough across the desert."

Peter had clearly already had this thought and he had an idea on how to subvert it. " they have no need to cross the desert," he said pointing at the port on the eastern coast of the Calormen empire. "they can sail most of the way across the desert. and make land on the south side of the peninsula."

That would give them a short enough land travel to move a large force. They would also be within striking distance of Archenland then.

"I can send word to the Archenlanders if you would like brother," Edumnd was half offering to and half asking permission to. After the Falaah fiasco, he was nervous about making any mistakes.

"Do it," Peter said with a slight nod of his head.

Edmund left to go write that letter but on his way out Susan and Falaah met him at the door. Susan handed Edmund a book and said. "whatever you are doing you need to stop it."

Falaah walked over to Peter and said. " the people who attacked us were not the Tirsoc's assassins. "

Peter was clearly confused by this since they were so certain.

Susan picked up by showing Peter a part of a book.

the Tirsoc's Assassin's League is renowned for their efficiency and professionalism. it has been said that. " it is better to be killed by the Tirosc's Assassins then by the Tirsoc. For the Tirsoc ( may he live forever) wasn't known for his mercy and the Assassins killed with such speed that the victims often were unaware of their threat.

"Then why would they try and poison me?" Peter asked, there was also the obvious matter of one of them trying to rape Susan but nobody was gonna bring that up.

"They wouldn't," Falaah said. "That's the problem, this wasn't them"

now everybody had to try and figure out why a team would impersonate the Tirsoc's Assassins.

Edmund's head shot up with a smile on his face saying. "Peter I may know what is going on here."

Peter gestured to him continue and so he did. "someone wants us to think it is the Tirsoc's Assassins. they are baiting us into getting our army mobilized."

"who would want that?" Susan asked.

"Rabdash," Falaah said in a quiet voice. It was a name she was all too aware of. " He is a prince under the Trisoc, he is young and incredibly reckless. He may be trying to bait you into starting a war." She also knew why he would do this and it troubled her immensely.

After all, she had been betrothed to him.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Falaah could still remember the way that he had looked at her when they first meet. It sickened her to know that she was going to be forced to marry him.

When her mother found out that she was planning to run away he beat by her father before he locked her into her room saying that she would be marrying the future Tirsoc no matter what she thought.

Falaah still remembered those nights locked in her room. She grew lonely and miserable. One night she broke the lock on the sill so that she could lean out her window. Her room was on the top floor and the fall would end on the stone slabs of the street below. It would no doubt kill her but it would have been made little difference to her. Her choices were a long life with Rabdash, or a short drop. One last act of defiance and independence. Yes, that would be her choice.

She was brushing her hair and getting ready. She needed to be ready to meet whatever supreme being existed beyond life and death. When she heard her door's lock disengage she panicked.

If anybody saw that she had broken her window lock they would no doubt fix it and make sure that she would never do it again. It was now or never so she sprinted across her room and jumped up onto her window sill.

She hesitated for a moment and was glad she did when she heard a voice behind her."Falaah NO," the voice cried. It was Bryson her cousin. He was a good man and one of Falaah's few friends. How he found her she had no idea but if he was here then maybe there was hope.

She turned around at the sound of clattering boots. It seemed that Bryson had brought a few of his friends with him. He was in the Trisoc's army and was one of the elite warriors to be granted the the title of Sanjaris. They were the best foot soldiers in the Empire and if one of their fellow Sanjaris asked them for help with anything short of treason then they would do it.

One of them had a set of lockpicks that he was collecting and two more were holding drawn bows each point down a different end of the hallway. Bryson and the one who followed him into the room gently pulled Falaah from the window. Once she was back on the stable ground her knees gave out.

The shock of almost dying was setting in and Bryson needed to still get her away from the city. Without a word, Bryson grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her lightly. Falaah came to her senses and soon they were on their way. Most of Bryson's men left to each steal a horse and leave.

Bryson was the only one left when Falaah was ready to leave. They made it to the stables and were in the middle of getting Falaah on a horse when there was a call from behind them. "Halt horse thieves!".

It was Falaah's father. He had his sword drawn and there were two guards by his side. There was a second of silence before Bryson struck. He lashed out his dagger in his right hand held with a reversed grip as he slit the throat of the guard farthest to his left.

Falaah saw her father raise his sword and she was glad that it was dark. If he could see who he attacking he would have known better. Bryson ducked under the strike and slipped his right arm under her father's shoulder and used his as a shield against the third guard long enough for him to throw his dagger through the man's neck.

It was a sloppy throw but it was enough the severe one of the major arteries. And the man staggered off bleeding heavily. He only made it three steps before he dropped from blood loss. Falaah saw her father struggle trying to use his sword to attack Bryson.

All he managed to do was give Bryson the chance to take away his sword. A sword that Bryson then ran through his chest effectively killing him instantly. He dropped his lifeless body to the straw-covered back to Falaah he handed her a sack of gold coins saying. " get enough food and water to cross the desert and then ride North past Archeland. Narnia has just been through a civil war and you may be able to hide during the chaos."

Without another word, Bryson mounted a horse of his own and rode North. He would be fine and Falaah knew it but she was still worried. Bryson and his men could still be charged with crimes if they were caught. That being said if they managed to avoid any obvious involvement. Which so far they had. Then they would be fine. The Tirsoc would never go through all the effort of punishing some of his best warriors, especially not if they taught his son some much-needed humility.

Falaah rode hard and long. She was on her way to the capital of Cair Paravel when she was captured. She was nervous about what was going to happen to her now. Not that it mattered, less than half a day after she was captured Edmund and his men attacked her captors an inadvertently captured her.

She considered explaining herself but she found it better to play her cards close to the vest in this foreign land. That was how she made her way here. And she was glad that she had. If she was a prisoner of the Narnians then no one had bothered to tell her that. She felt like she was had more freedom here than she did in Tashbann.

She was starting to like it here and she was starting to think that she may want to stay.

"Father I want this man DEAD!" Rabdash shouted. He had just received news that Bryson was back in Tashbann.

The Tirsoc watched with an expressionless face as his son threw a temper tantrum in front of him. "That cannot be done," he replied in a calm voice.

"WHAT?" Rabdash shrieked. "This man stole from me and by extension from you. How can you ever allow such actions to go unpunished.?"

It was a good question but one that the prince would only get a half answer. Bryson had killed three men and his friends had helped him break into a man's house. Furthermore, Bryson could probably be accused of kidnapping this Falaah girl. "Bryson and his men serve a purpose you cannot understand yet. I am afraid that what you want is quite impossible." the Tirsoc said

This was only part of the problem. The other part was that if the Tirsoc ever needed to have Rabdash killed then Bryson would be the perfect person to do the job.

"Know this, my son," the Tirsoc said. " I have given Bryson a very difficult task. In order to atone for his crimes, he must head to Narnia and use his men to achieve something of great significance."

That seemed to placate the still seething Rabdash who left the throne room to go waste the Tirsoc's time and money on something else. Maybe he would find himself a new love. Someone as beautiful the one he fell for last time. And hopefully more receptive to marring the oldest son of the Tirsoc.

Simon and Susan had been going back and forth trying to find out what the best course of action for Narnia was while Peter listened and did some thinking of his own.

" we need immediate military action to force the Calormen's hand. They will have a hard time crossing the desert to attack us but if we recruit the Archenlanders then they can help us destroy them." Simon monologue. He may have been talking to Peter but he talking AT Susan who simply sighed deeply and said.

" If we do that then we are giving this Rabdash person exactly what he wants. He wants war and we cannot let him have it."

Simon shot back with. " In case her majesty hasn't already noticed he has already sent assassins and he can do it again. What is to keep him from trying over and over until it works. Hell, it almost worked this time. If I wasn't nearby then you would be dead or worse."

"Susan was visibly confused by his answer saying. " why are you this mad, there is no reason to think that he will send more assassins. After the failure of the first group, any following attempts could lead back to him. He would not dare risk it. What had got you so worked up?"

The sight and made Lucy leave the room to avoid laughing out right. She could see what was happening. Simon was getting defensive over Susan and it was adorable.

Lucy was also a little bit worried. After all the main reason that Simon would be getting so, defensive of Susan would be if he was getting attached to her. And the last person that Simon fell in love with was Jadis.

Lucy never really knew the White Witch personally but she was slightly concerned about the thought of her sister becoming like her in any way.

She would keep an eye on her for now. It wasn't likely that Susan would turn into the white witch but Lucy still wanted to be careful.

She needed a minute to compose herself before she walked back in. when she did she saw the Simon and Susan were no longer looking at each other. That was to be expected though. If either found out that it was his growing affection that had set Simon on the warpath then it would have been rather embarrassing.

Lucy also noticed that Falaah had migrated over to stand next to Peter. Lucy had no idea who this Rabdash was but the very mention of his name seem to set Falaah off and that was bad in Lucy's book.

" I have a counter offer," Edmund said from his place near the edge of the group. " I can go to the Tirsoc and talk to him about this. If Rabdash really did send the fake assassins after us then I imagine his father will be none to happy about him trying to start a war without permission."

Everyone stood in silence thinking it over when Peter broke the silence. " Ed's right. His plan is dangerous. If the Tirsoc did send them after us then he may attack Edmund and that would force us into war. However that plan risks war, Simon's plan brings us to war, and Susan's plan brings war to us. No Edmund is our best option."

Turning to his brother Peter said. "Take your personal aid Joshua as well as a party of centaurs twenty strong. I want you to leave as soon as you can."

With the meeting over Peter left for his chambers and Falaah followed. She needed to tell him something that may be important.

When they arrived Peter noticed that she had followed him and motioned to a chair. She sat down and he sat down in the one opposite her. It was clear that he was still a little weak from the poison but considering the fact that most people didn't live for five minutes after exposure, he was doing fine.

" What is the matter, you look troubled," Peter asked her.

"It's Simon, I don't understand how he can be so young." she said. " the myths of him date back almost a hundred years. Traders would sell him rocks and metal but never any food."

Peter nodded before saying. " I was wondering about that myself. At first, I thought that it may be a handed down title but that left to many unanswered questions."

Falaah cut him off with. " there's more," she leaned in close and said. " he spoke to me using a language that nobody has spoken in a long time. I don't know how he could have known."

Peter nodded again and was going to speak when he heard something outside his window. He looked and saw Simon and Susan setting up a table. Which really meant that Simon was carrying a table and Susan was trying to tell him where to put it.

Peter leaned out and yelled. "What are you two doing?"

Simon yelled back. " you'll see after dark. This is gonna be fun"


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

As Darkness fell over Cair Paravel Peter strode across the grass to the stop where Simon and Susan had set up some manner of post with a ring on it that stood about five feet off the ground. Simon was looking through the ring and turning it to face the castle.

"Might I ask what you are doing?" Peter inquired. Falaah was close behind him wondering the same thing.

"What is your birthday High King?" Simon responded still maneuvering the apparatus.

Peter actually needed a moment to think about it before he answered "April 26th" he said finally reaching Susan who was herself looking a little mystified by what Simon was doing.

"Simon there is no way to correlate the sate in Narnia to the date back in England," She said confident in her statement

No sooner had she said so Simon answered back. " It's April 24th"

"Prove it," Susan spat out not believing him.

Without looking away from the device Simon pointed to one of the tables. " those are star charts that were made by the ancient Narnian's someone just before the fall I reckon."

Susan looked them over and Peter watched mildly amused as she began to work out the math and looking back to the sky. "If that is Solaris," she said pointing to a star that was labeled on the chart. "Then where is Solus Minor?"

Instead of answering Simon just pointed at the sky and kept working on his device. Susan kept looking and found a start that matched the position of Solus Minor. She was still skeptical about whether or not Simon's charts were correct but she had no reason to doubt them.

"Where did you find these things?" Susan asked. It made no sense to her how he had found them. She had combed the archives and none of them mentioned this device. So unless Simon was alive before the fall of Narnia which was a hundred years ago there was no way he could have ever gotten his hands on them, unless.

"Simon, did you ever meet the White Witch?" when Susan saw the way that Simon's body went stiff at the mention of the former queen then she knew that she was onto something.

" I never meet her in person but I heard of her from a friend of mine," he said it was clear from his tone that he was uncomfortable talking about it so she pressed the matter.

"Then how did you get these, I know for a fact that they weren't in the archives when I looked I would have noticed them," she asked walking towards him.

All at once he stood up and with an arrogant smile said. " I think not my lady, these items where how shall we say, um, over your head."

It was a simple short joke but it still got under Susan's skin. Not in the least because she wasn't that short. Simon was simply a giant. He stood over six foot four, and that was without his boots which added another two inches.

Seeing she was angry Simon decided to poke the metaphorical bear a little more saying. " now, now your majesty," he goaded making sure to layer as much sarcasm as he could on the last part. " let's not let our temper's rise above us I know it a much more difficult task for you than be but still do make an attempt."

It was the final jab that set Susan off. She quickly reached up and slapped Simon across the face before storming off to go calm down in private.

Simon for his part seemed more or less unphased by Susan's attack and turned back to Peter and Falaah. " lady Falaah what is your birthday?"

Falaah looked a little embarrassed when she said. " I am afraid that I do not know,"

Simon looked unimpressed but turned back to Peter. " I can firmly tell you that it is Narnia's celestial as well as seasonal spring."

Peter nodded glad to know that the arrival of him and his siblings didn't cause any shift in the Narnian seasons. It was a small thing but it was still good.

Peter nodded and left Simon to his work, it was late and he needed to get to bed soon he hoped to sleep tonight.

…

Peter found himself back on the battlefield Jadis standing against him. Their blades moving in a blazing ballet of death. Peter felt the sweat from his brow drip into his eyes but he needed to keep his focus. Were he to even blink Jadis could kill him.

Their dance ended prematurely when Jadis separated from attacking range and lunged to her left. At first, Peter thought she was moving to flank him or attempt to gain higher ground. So he moved to cut her off from doing so only to see her true intention.

As Peter reached out his hand in a vain attempt to stop the Witch's act of spite. Helplessly he watched as Jadis ran her swords through Falaah's heart. Peter failed to ask hat Falaah was doing at a battle fought months before she ever came to Narnia. None of that mattered to him as the dying girl collapsed to her knees before falling to her side. When he saw her blood pooling under her Peter felt something in his change. Any thoughts of defeat left him, any possibility of mercy was gone. He was going to kill the White Witch and anything that got in his way.

His rage gave his muscles strength and his fury gave him conviction as he swung his blade at the vile woman before him. As he swung his eyes opened and he went from the battlefield to his bedroom. Rhindon sank into his bedpost as Falaah lunged back from where she was standing dodging the sharpened steel by a matter of inches.

With his breathing still heavy Peter yanked his sword from the wooden post and sheathed is asking. "Falaah, what are you doing here?"

The Calor women needed a moment to collect herself after nearly ending up on the wrong end of the High King's blade. " I was unable to sleep so I was wandering the halls. As I passed by your door I heard what I thought was a fight. I looked inside and saw you on your bed thrashing about. I tried to wake you when," her face told Peter what came next.

He raised his right hand to his face using his thumb to scratch at the stubble present and his forefinger to work through his also growing mustache. "Falaah, I am so sorry. At night I am not always myself. I know it makes little sense but,"

The High King stopped speaking when he felt Falaah wrap him in her arms saying. " I understand. The past is often haunting."

At first, a feeling of peace rushed over him as he finally felt like he wasn't alone. That feeling was soon overtaken but a new feeling. A wave of immeasurable anger came over him as he realized that someone had somehow hurt her so badly that it haunted her the way his battles haunted him.

Peter looked out the window and saw that the sun would be rising in a few hours. As such he saw no need to attempt to go back to sleep instead he walked to his desk and began to make ready his writing supplies.

"what are you doing?" Falaah asked no doubt wondering the High Kings intentions.

"My birthday is tomorrow, If I allow Lucy to plan all of the festivities then she will have us up all through the night and into the next morning. As such I am giving her a list of limitations," he answered doing his best to keep his writing neat.

Recognizing that neither of them would be getting any more sleep Falaah made her way to the kitchen in the hopes of making them both some tea. She found the kitchen empty so she set about lighting one of the small stoves. When that was done she readied a pot for the tea and put her water on to boil.

She was almost done when she heard footsteps behind her. Thinking fast she turned hid in one of the cupboards while looking through a crack in the wooden door. Much to her dismay, Susan walked into the kitchen and set about making a pot of tea, or at least Falaah thought it was tea.

Susan looked suspicious when she found a pot on the stove that Falaah was using. But she ignored it and put her own kettle on to boil. Falaah watched her pour out a leather pouch about the size of a small apple into the teapot before emptying the boiling water into the pot and leaving with the pot and two cups

Falaah wondered what Susan was doing up this early but chose not to ask in order to avoid having to answer the same question. She did, however, make a mental note to try and coax it out of her later.

With her tea made Falaah gathered two cups and headed back to Peter's room.

…

Susan tried to sleep but whenever she closed her eyes she saw the face of the man who had attacked her. She knew that the man was an impostor merely pretending to be her brother but it still made her feel sick to have felt so helpless. If Simon had arrived a few minutes later or if he had never arrived at all she would be dead or worse.

Accepting that sleeping was not going to happen Susan instead chose to wander the interior of Cair Paravel. She needed to get more accustomed to her new home and this seemed as good a way as any.

She wandered the halls for several hours making a mental map of each wing. She was now able to find her way through the wing that housed the kitchen and gardens as well as the two wings that housed the castle's armory and forges.

She was walking back through the wing that the royal family and their guests slept in when she smelled it.

At first, she was unsure of what it was so she simply followed it. As she drew closer to the smell she heard singing. "Oh Lord my God, When I in awesome wonder consider all the worlds thy hands hath made."

Susan recognized that it was a hymn and that alone told her who was singing. None of her siblings sang hymns so that left only Simon. Following the smell as well as the singing she kept going.

" I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder. Your power throughout the universe displayed." Susan could hear enough to the voice to tell her that it was Simon. She thought about leaving it at that but something drove her on. She had a feeling that she needed to investigate further. And investigate she did.

She found a door that was open a crack and when she peeked through Simon could be seen. He was sitting in the window sill. One of his legs was dangling out the window and he had his wooden pipe in his hand.

She let him finish singing but still hesitated to open the door. " the singing helps with the nightmares." he said causing her to jump slightly.

Realizing that he knew she was there and that she no longer needed to hide she opened the door and stepped inside. She could tell that what she was smelling was coming from his pipe and if she was right then it was something similar to Marijuana.

"You seem to be up early," Susan said not really sure how to respond to Simon's words.

Simon laughed and empty laugh that made Susan worried. " I didn't sleep so I don't think that I am up early just extremely late." Simon offered.

"and the Devil's Weed?" Susan asked inquiring about the contents of the pipe.

"So that's what they're calling it nowadays," he said taking another drag. " it also helps with the nightmares,"

Susan knew from Simon's tone that she was walking on thin ice but she still felt the push to go further. " what nightmares?" she asked.

Simon kept his gaze fixed on the horizon as he spoke. " Edmund tells me that you are currently at war with Germany and that you were previously at war with them. Do you know anyone who fought in the first war?"

Susan took a minute to think before she answered. " don't know any personally but I have heard of some men who claim to see the battle in their sleep, who have to stay inside whenever there are fireworks. They are said to be suffering from shellshock."

Simon nodded saying. " I don't think it is shell shock, I have found records of knights who would breakdown when they heard any metal clanging. Killing people changes your mind. And not for the better."

Susan could see that he was himself seeing a battle he had long since survived.

"What war did you fight in?" she asked hoping she hadn't just overstepped her bounds.

" it was a small war between a group of settlers that I was a part of, I group of Indians that hated the white man and group of the white man who hated everybody. I once killed six people in one day during that war." for the first time in this whole conversation Simon turned to look at Susan.

"Do you know why I grow my hair long?" he asked. When it was obvious that she had no answer he used his hands to pull back his hair and pull forward part of his beard to reveal a large scar on the right side of his neck. " A scout from the Kiowa tribe managed to surprise me. I don't know how he managed to not kill but he did." Simon motioned to the large knife that was hanging in its sheath on his bedpost, he said. " I gave him no such luxury."

"That sounds awful," Susan said feeling her empathy rise up in her.

" It was, but it got worse, not that I am going to tell you anything about it. You might not speak to me again if I did." Simon said looking back out the window getting lost in his thoughts again.

Susan worried about what he was talking about and she was also starting to worry about Peter. He too had seen battle but was the effect the same on him. She would need to keep an eye on him just in case.

"What of you?" Simon asked stirring her from her thoughts. " you've been through quite a bit in the past three days. How are you holding up?"

Susan valued her privacy but she also understood the importance of being honest with Simon about this. It was clear that he understood the situation better than most. " I haven't able to sleep since the attack, does it ever get better?" She asked. She was afraid of her answer but she still needed to know.

" No," Simon said " but you get better at dealing with it. Everyone finds something that helps." Simon took one last drag from his pipe before gently tap it on the stone wall to loosen the ash. As he turned it over to dump the contents he said. " for me, it is my pipe and my hymns. For you, it may be anything."

Susan felt like he was leaving something out but she knew better than to push him right now. Instead, she turned to leave not knowing what she should say. When she did so she smelled something, another distinct odor she was never expecting to encounter again.

"Is that Coffee?" she asked walking over to the bag she traced the scent to.

"Yes," Simon said feeling a swell of pride with his work. " I grow it myself in a small patch of land near my house, well it's more of a yurt really but I haven't moved it in years so it's my house now."

Susan had an idea and she hoped she was right. Without a word, she grabbed the leather bag that held the ground coffee and left for the kitchen. When she arrived she saw that someone had left one of the stoves on with a kettle boiling. It was unusual but she had no reason to assume anything bad of it.

After she got her own kettle boiling she dumped the coffee grounds into a teapot and poured the hot water into it as well. On her way out she grabbed a tray with two teacups. She knew that it wouldn't be the best coffee Simon ever had but it would be good enough all things considered and she could probably get the smiths to make a better device later.

Susan used her back to slowly push open the door so Simon's room. She had drawn in a breath to speak when she froze. Simon was asleep on his bed. He had one hand behind the back of his head and the other was hanging close to the handle of his Bowie Knife.

She was careful not to make any noise when she set the tray down on a chair near the door and slipped out of the room. Susan stopped for a moment to look back as Simon. For the first time since they had met, he looked like he was at peace.

The thought that it was talking to Susan about what happened in Texas helped him sleep sent a feeling that Susan was unfamiliary with through her. She had no idea what to do with this feeling she just knew that she liked it. So without a word, she gently closed the door and set off to go find Lucy.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Lucy was just about to get out of bed and set about working on her daily actions when Susan barged in. Lucy was a little shocked at the fact that her sister had actually barged in forgoing the process of knocking.

"Good morning Sue," Lucy said stretching her arms up over her head. "May I ask what brings you into my room so abruptly?"

After a moment of confusion Susan's cheeks slightly darkened at the embarrassing realization that she simply stormed in, an action she would never approve of. Upon further inspection, Susan's cheeks may have already been a rosy shade when she arrived but Lucy was too tired to remember.

" I'm afraid I don't know Lue, I've just got this feeling," Susan said it was clear to Lucy that whatever the cause of her sister's presence was something that was both distraction and embarrassing. After all ever since their coronation Susan had made a conscious effort to eradicate contractions from her vocabulary and she had already used three.

" Is it about Simon?" Lucy asked.

Lucy knew she was fishing. It was unlikely that what she had seen between her sister and the resident blacksmith had made any progress. It could take months, maybe even years for the two of them to start to see more than an opponent in each other.

This was why Lucy was shocked to see Susan freeze when she mentioned Simon. "Well," Susan said trying to find the best way to phrase her answer. After several seconds of pondering it was clear that she was not going to be giving Lucy and answer.

That left the onus for finding out what was going solely on Lucy. Who herself got out of bed and put on her slippers. They were made out of cloth, and soft whicker. A centaur seamstress sewed them for her when it was found out that Lucy felt bad about wearing leather or fur around the Narnians.

Too tired to word her response in a delicate way Lucy shuffled over to her sister stopping a few feet away and looking up to face her. "What happened Sue? I can't help you if you don't tell me what happened,"

"Well," Susan said, again beginning to stall out. Lucy saw this and turned to leave. Her gamble was rewarded when Susan blurted out. " I was walking around the castle late last night and I found Simon but he was sitting in his window and singing and smoking his pipe when I talked to him he spoke about what happened in Texas and why he doesn't sleep well so I went to make some coffee only to find him asleep when I got back and I thought about whether or not I managed to help him sleep just by talking to him and now I have this thing in stomach and chest and it feels weird but I think I like it but I am still confused so I came to you since you might know."

If Lucy still had any semblance of sleep left then it died when Susan prattled on without a thought of breath of pause. It was most unlike her and that really got Lucy's attention.

After a moment to think about what had been said, Lucy nodded at herself when she settled on an answer. "There are two options," she said already fairly certain which one was correct.

"Either you are feeling happy because you helped someone or," Lucy paused to wait for the suspense to build. After she was satisfied Lucy continued. " you are going soft for Simon,"

To say that Susan's mood shifted into indifferent denial while not untrue would be an understatement.

"Don't say anything, I don't need to hear you try and figure yourself out I have more important matters," Lucy said gently guiding her shocked sister out of the room. shuffling over to her dresser. She was getting ready to get dressed when Falaah walked in. she was smiling from ear to ear in a way that definitely piqued Lucy's interest.

"What's got you in such a chipper mood?" she asked only to rewarded with the smile fading and Falaah seeming to return to her usual happy self

"Nothing, " she said lost in thought. " oh, by the way, I have a letter from Peter for you." she continued handing Lucy a rolled-up piece of paper to the queen of Narnia before looking out one of the light sunlight windows as she thought of the High-King of Narnia.

…

Falaah had returned with the tea she made at about the same time that Peter had finished making the list he planned to give to Lucy.

" I made some tea," she said breaking the silence and causing Peter to turn to face her.

"Thank you, can you do me a favor and bring to Lucy?' he asked holding the paper out to her in his left hand.

" of course," she said reaching out with her right hand to take the paper only to have Peter intercept it with his own. He wrapped his calloused hand around her soft fingers. Then with a combination of pulling her hand and lowering his head gently kissed the back of Falaah's right hand before depositing the paper into her left hand.

"Thank you milady," he said turning back to his desk and starting to write something else.

As she left Falaah could hear her heart thumping in her chest and felt her cheeks running hot. She wasn't ready for Peter to do that and it was shocking, to say the least.

…

Peter waited until Falaah had left before he put down his quill. He had been scribbling gibberish so that he would be able to avoid looking at her. He wanted to keep her from seeing how flushed his face was. In truth, he was still shocked that he had done that.

He was also shocked that she had simply let him without any protest or comments. The more he thought about the more he liked it. Her hand smelled nice and her skin was soft.

All at once it hit what he was thinking about. He felt his heart drop at the thought of him being in love with Falaah. He had told himself when he first meet her that he would not allow that to happen.

She was for lack of a better word a prisoner and it just felt wrong for him to fall in love with someone who he knew may feel like they have no choice but love him back.

No, he was the High-King of Narnia. He would have to bite his tongue and move on. It would be bitter but he had to put himself aside for his people.

Just as he was thinking this through he heard a knock at his door. It was open but Edmund had still chosen to knock to give away his presence. The battle for Narnia had changed Edmund almost as much as it had Peter so this was no shock. He wanted to avoid surprising his brother.

" I have the letter for the Tisroc, it just needs your signature," he said offering Peter a roll of paper.

Peter read it over, it detailed everything that had happened from the Calormen attack force that Edmund had found as well as Falaah's capture. It went on to discuss the faked attempt on the Pevensies.

"Remove any mention of Falaah and then sign it for me," he said handing it back to his brother.

Edmund said nothing but instead nodded before he walked away with a smile on his face. While it may have a been a mistake to capture Falaah the way he did there may still be some good to come of his choice


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Lucy was reading over the letter that Peter had sent her. It detailed the limits that he was putting on the celebration of his party. A party that was tomorrow and only allowed to last for four hours.

The letter went on to detail several other stipulations that were meant to restrain the party that was going to take place. It made Lucy laugh at her brother's attempt. And laugh she did right before she tossed the letter into the fireplace. The fire was out but it was the thought that counts and eventually the fire will be reignited.

Falaah looked slightly confused. She was still getting used to the way things were in Narnia. An ass though he was Rabbdash would never ignore such a direct order from the Trisoc. It would be suicide. Falaah also knew that High King Peter was no Tirsoc. He was surprisingly merciful for a man who had to take his Kingdom with blood and steel.

The two of them sat in silence with Lucy writing down her plans for the party when Simon entered the room. He had an abnormal smile on his face. "Lady Falaah, I have come from the High King. He said that when you left to bring Lucy his letter that you forgot this." as he spoke he handed Falaah a broach.

It was made of silver with an amazing array of small rubies, emeralds, and sapphires. It was breathtaking. It was also most definitely not something that Falaah had left in Peter's room. She had never seen it before in her life.

She had no chance to say so as Simon calmly left it on the table next to her and said. " Queen Lucy I require your opinion on a matter in my forge"

With that, he left Lucy following soon after. Once they had traveled two corners away he turned around with a smile on his face. "I know for a fact that she didn't leave that in Peter's room. I made that broach and Peter bought it from me this morning."

This was good news to Lucy as it meant that Peter, while no doubt conflicted about what to do, did have feelings for her. "Good, Good," she said looking off into the distance planning out her next move.

Simon for his part knowing that he had nothing more to tell Lucy headed off to go attend to his other duties.

This left Lucy who now had some work to do. She had to plan a party for Peter but if she was right about her brother's feelings. (which she normally was) then he was beginning to feel some kind of attraction to Falaah.

Lucy was more than okay with this, after all, she had gotten to know Falaah rather well in the past few days and she trusted her wholeheartedly. Falaah was a kind and gentle soul, but she also knew that there could come a time when swords needed to be drawn and blood spilled. That made her perfect for Peter.

And Peter was a gentleman who in spite of the clear joy he had for the art of battle had what was probably the highest value of life out of any of his siblings with the exception of Lucy herself. Furthermore, Peter would move Heaven and Earth to protect his friends and his family.

Lucy knew that Falaah was afraid of going home, Lucy also knew that Falaah was hiding something of great significance. It most likely involved her homeland since she looked a little nervous when the Calormen Prince Rabdash was brought up in conversation.

Getting back to task Lucy set off looking for Edmund. She wanted to catch him before he left. It would be important that the king of Narnia not miss his own brother's birthday party. She found Edmund talking with his personal aide Joshua.

They were hammering out plans for Edmund's journey southward. "Edmund," Lucy called catching her brother's attention. "You cannot leave yet tomorrow is Peter's birthday and you must attend the party."

She left no room for argument in her voice as she turned and headed out of the room. Now she headed to the servant's quarters. It was a slight walk from where Edmund was but she needed to speak to them.

When she found them Cyndra was working on a shirt most likely meant for the Pevensie's growing wardrobe. "Cyndra, I have a favor to ask of you," Lucy said drawing the attention to the Centaur woman.

Upon seeing the Queen Cyndra quickly dropped her head in a bow saying. " Anything you ask your majesty."

"Good, cause this is a complicated story," Lucy " Let me start at the beginning."

After she had finished telling them everything she knew about Peter and Falaah at the end of the story they were all on board with the plan that Lucy had so they set off for Lucy's room where Falaah was. They had a dress to make. And Lucy had to go find Peter.

And find him she did, he was sparring with Cetus and it was clear that Peter was the one leading the dance and he also looked to be distracted by something else. He was still parrying flawlessly but there was always a moment of hesitation in his moves.

All at once he seemed to shake that distraction as he deftly countered a thrust of Cetus' spear with a fast parry batting the weapon away and resting Rhindon's tip on Cetus' chest plate.

"Very well done your majesty," A voice called from beyond Lucy's line of sight. It was Simon who had been watching the spar from the side. He was now walking over to Peter clapping slowly. " I think that your sword skills need to further work but I know that your unarmed skills have room for improvement.

At this Oreius stepped forward and in a clearly offended voice said. " The High King does not need any aide in battle training."

Lucy could tell that Oreius still held a grudge about Simon knocking out one of the guards for the palace when he arrived. The animosity only got worse when Simon looked at him and asked. "You wanna go horse-man?"

He had to tilt his head upward just to look Oreius in the eye. It was only a few inches but Oreius was still annoyed that Simon was challenging him directly.

Before an answer was able to be given Peter stepped in between the two of them. " that is enough out of both of you, Simon do I need to ask you to behave yourself. Oreius Simon has a very good point."

Finished speaking Peter stepped back and motioned for Simon to speak.

Simon looked to a faun and said. "Please bring me three firewood logs and an axe."

When the faun left Simon began to speak to Peter and the crowd. " there are two ways to fight without weapons. Striking and holding." it was at that point that the Faun returned with an armload of wood and an axe in his hand.

Simon took the axe and one of the logs before handing both of them to a Minotaur. "Please split this log," he said taking a step back to allow for enough room.

The log was placed on the stone floor of the courtyard and with a grunt, the axe was brought down to split the wood. The minotaur was careful not to strike the stone floor with the axe instead stopping inches away from it. A obvious show of skill with the weapon.

With a nod, Simon took the axe and held the top of the axehead in his right hand as he wrapped his left arm around the handle before grabbing his right wrist with his left hand. Simon then flexed his arms and the handle snapped like it was a toothpick.

getting the second log he placed them both on the floor. He set the axe head on the log and with a swift left-handed punch he embedded the blade into the wood. With a loud shout, he extended his left leg up in the air and smashed his heel down on the back of the blade driving it clean through ending in a loud screech as the steel scraped on the stone.

Simon picked up the blade and looked at it. The blade was bent so he only managed to make a small chip in the third log. But with that chip made he pulled the axe head out and tossed it away instead of sticking his fingers into the crack.

He held the log to his chest with his palms facing him and with a grunt he ripped the log in half letting the two haves fall the stone floor.

As Simon kept speaking Lucy walked over to Peter and whispered. " we need to talk about your birthday party, as well as your outrageous demands."

She knew Peter wanted a small party but the Narnians would never allow that this was the first birthday for the royal family and it just so happened to be the High King's. Peter was going to fight her on it but she would get him to accept it all the same.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Malik stood at the gates of Cair Paravel. He had heard that the capital city of Narnia had been reopened to trade. He was still nervous about going in though. Several people had gone in about three years ago and they had never been seen again,

The gate was open and there were a couple of Narnians looking at him like he was a three-headed goat and seeing as he was staring at a literal fawn he chose to just keep staring before heading inside.

He was watched vigilantly at first but after about twenty minutes of him simply sitting with his small cart in the town square they started to ignore him. It would take a while but he was going to be the first trader to work with the Narnians and it was going to be his biggest achievement.

He could tell that he was probably clouded by the ambition of youth but he paid that no mind. Right now he needed to get his name out to the Narnians, but how?

His question seemed to answer itself when he saw a beautiful Calorwoman wondering the streets, she looked like she was trying to find something specific. She also seemed to be an accepted part of the city which meant that she had gotten here long before him.

Malik had learned that a few gifts here and there went a long way towards getting people to care about your wares. So he fished out one of his better sets of silver earings and went to the stall that she was shopping at.

He had the earings dangling from his right hand as he reached for her shoulder with his left. Before he could reacher her though a set of strong hands grabbed him by the neck and by his right forearm dragging him into an alleyway.

When Malik felt his back slam against the stone wall he saw a fair-skinned man with blonde hair and eyes that would kill if they could glaring at him.

Acting on instinct Malik dropped the earings as he reached for his dagger. It was no good however, the grip that this man had on his right arm kept it pinned to the wall.

The man looked down at the earings and his eyes went wide with shock. " I am so sorry," he said letting go of Malik and taking a step back." I saw you walking up behind her with what I thought was a knife and I may have panicked."

Malik nodded. " understandable," he said. " I tell you what, if you tell me where I can find the High King I will forgive you, I wish to discuss opening a trade route with him."

The man began to rub the back of his head before saying. " well, I am the High King so you have gotten that part down."

Malik was speechless this boy was the High King, Malik was at least five years his elder. " well then, I am glad to have met you, your majesty," Malik said offering his hand to Peter. He almost withdrew it thinking that he wanted to avoid violating any Narnian customs but the High King took it and said.

" We can discuss that in a few days, there is going to be a large celebration here tonight and I would like you to enjoy the festivities," without another word the High King took a step back and disappeared deeper into the alleyway.

Malik turned back and made his way to the palace. When he was inside he was shocked at the lack of guards. But then again almost everyone he saw was armed in some way so the two things balanced out.

He saw a woman leaning over a table working on a set of maps. She was pretty enough so he went to hand her the earings. This time he had his arm folded behind his back. He had just tapped her on the shoulder when a set of hands grabbed him by his curled arm and in a strange lock not known to Malik drag him away from the woman. Malik was trying to fight back but he was unable to do much since the man had one hand Maliks arm and one on his throat. Whenever malik moved out of synch with the man he would tighten his grip on malik's throat and twist Malik's arm in a painful way.

Once they had left the room Malik was released and he turned to look at the man who had attacked him. He was tall and had a beard that was at least a foot long. For a moment Malik wanted to speak to the mana about what he had just done but when Malik heard the low growl coming from the man he thought better of it.

There were no words exchanged between the two of them but Malk could tell what the taller man had meant. He didn't want Malik near the woman.

Nodded that he understood Malik turned and began to wander the castle. He wasn't sure where he was going and if he was being honest he had gotten lost shortly after he left the woman looking at the map.

He stopped when he heard a group of people approaching. Malik ducked behind a cabinet. He was starting to rethink his choice to come here and if he could avoid meeting any more Narnians for a little while he would be okay with that.

A young girl and centaur passed. " the dress is ready your majesty," the centaur said.

"Wonderfull, wonderfull, this is going to be good. Thank you Cyndra could you get the dress ready to be fitted to Falaah I will be getting her into your workshop soon," the centaur nodded and walked in a different direction.

Malik saw a chance to finally get his name out and to also give these earrings to someone. He approached slowly checking for any more ambushes. When he was satisfied that there were none he said.

"Excuse me, your majesty, I appear to be lost," he said doing his best to sound innocent.

The girl turned around with an ever-present smile on her face saying. Well, then how about he get you un-lost. My name is Lucy who might you be?" she asked

"My name is Malik," he replied bowing slightly

"Well follow me, Malik," Lucy said as she lead him to the main gates of the castle.

"Thank you, your majesty, might I give you something, a gift of sorts?" he asked.

"Why certainly you may thank you," Lucy answered.

Malik handed her the earings and then turned to leave. Only when he turned around did he see him. A fair-skinned man with dark hair and a bare face. He was standing in Malik's blind spot while sharpening a knife.

Malik made a mental note to be extra careful when he was around Lucy and did his best not to let the implied death threat get to him. He needed to change into his better clothes and see about having a place to stay for the night.

…

Peter was surprised to see just how many people were here. The party had been forced to leave the city and sprawl out into the fields surrounding the city. Peter had traded his robes for a set of more rugged pants and boots. It was late now but the party showed no signs of stopping.

He was singing with some of his men when Lucy walked out being followed by a few centaurs. Oreius saw them come and leaned down and after pointing to one of the centaurs walking with Lucy he whispered to Peter. "That is my wife Cyndra, she has been planning something with Queen Lucy but I don't know what, you may wish to tread carefully."

Peter nodded in acknowledgment and approached his sister. " I said four hours and no more than five deers," he said looking down at his little sister.

" I know," she replied. Peter may have not thought that his birthday was this significant but he was not only the High King he was also the High King who had killed Jadis. He more than any other person not named Aslan was to thank for the end of the White Witch's end.

Peter chuckled and shook his head knowing he couldn't do anything about it. Lucy always was a force of nature in her own way. Instead, he was going to have to accept it and move on. So he chose to enjoy the party. "Well, I will admit that this an impressive affair for two day time. Do you know where Simon is? The last time I saw him was early this morning," He asked

Lucy smiled a somewhat brighter smile than normal as she answered. "He said something about having to properly bathe for the party, I don't know where he is but I think he will be here soon, do you know where Susan is?"

"She is trying on several different dresses and kept asking for my opinion. She wants to find the right one whatever that means," he replied.

Lucy had to suppress a laugh when she heard that. Peter was the closest thing to Simon that wasn't Simon so it made sense with what she had told Lucy the other day. "By the way," Lucy said. "It has come time to head back into the castle for the dancing portion of the evening."

It was more of a command than anything else but Peter had a counter for it. "Lue by boots are covered in mud, I have no business on a dance floor right no,"

Lucy who seemed to have seen this coming swiftly motioned to Cyndra who handed Peter a pair was well-crafted shoes. "Happy Birthday your majesty," she said.

Peter turned to look at Oreius as if to ask him. "Did you know about this?"

The centaur leaned back slightly and said. " I already told you, your majesty, I have no idea what she has planned."

Peter sighed taking the shoes and heading for the castle thankfully the party seemed unaware fo his absence for a few minutes so he was able to get inside without any fuss. He swapped out his boots for the new shoes when he had reached the main hall. That was when he saw several Narnians already dancing inside.

There were thunderous cheers when he came in and for a moment he had no idea what he should do. He quickly composed himself and waved the crowd. He soon found himself talking to Beaver about the day's activities when he something caught his eye.

His heart stopped and a subconscious smile spread over his face when he saw Falaah. She was wearing a dress that was simply stunning. It was a magnificent display of green and red.

After a moment she turned and seemed to notice him looking at her. For a moment he was frozen, she was too beautiful for him to look away. When she started to blush and look away Peter did the same. He was still trying to figure out what to do next when he heard Beaver chuckle and say. " I know that look your majesty, go on ask her to dance,"

Peter thought about it and decided that Beaver was right. Falaah was going to have be sent back to the Calormen Empire but that didn't mean that he wasn't allowed to make some memories.

As he walked over to her he felt his heart race. It was strange, when he was fighting Jadis his heart was racing but it felt different. Then it was a just part of the battle but now, he was in no danger, there was no threat, so why couldn't he breathe?

When he reached her he opened his mouth but the words seemed to freeze in his mouth. He didn't know what to say at first. When he figured out what to say he couldn't seem to get it out. Instead, he opted for simply offering Falaah his hands.

Now his heart was pounding, this was the moment that would decide how he looked back at this day.

With a shy smile, she took his hand that he headed for the dance floor.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Lucy watched with a wide smile as Peter and Falaah danced around on the main floor. They were both smiling from ear to ear as they spun around the room. Lucy could tell that they had no idea who else was in the room.

Looking around the room revealed that she wasn't the only one who had noticed. Mr. and Mrs. Beaver were watching the High King dance. As was Susan and Oreius.

Thinking of Susan Lucy saw that she was wearing a beautiful dress. It was a light blue with white trim and had a trail that dragged about an inch on the ground. Coming up behind Susan Simon was approaching.

He was dressed up in a well-fitting black and red suit with a bowtie and shoulder cape. In total, he looked very courtly. Which Lucy knew made since on account of him having spent some time on the previous High King's court.

He was looking at Susan like he was conflicted. Lucy understood what was going on. She always had a way of reading people. She could tell that Simon and Susan had the chance for love just like Peter and Falaah. But the last time Simon fell in love he was betrayed and Narnia suffered dearly.

He wanted to talk to Susan but he could bring himself to do it. He was too afraid of what would happen next. He was just behind her and was reaching out to touch her shoulder but he stopped before he could.

Something seemed to flash before him and he pulled his hand back before he left the main hall.

Lucy knew that there a problem and she wanted to find out what it was. She walked over to her sister and asked her. "Susan were did you find that dress?"

Her sister seemed a little embarrassed to admit it but she answered. " I found it in one of the old rooms of the castle. I do not know where it came from but I would think that it was worn by one of the previous inhabitants of Cair Paravel. It was a little cold and the person that it was made for was clearly taller than me but it was close enough that Cyndra was able to make it fit my shoulders. Why, do you think it looks pretty?" she finished.

Lucy found it was adorable that Susan was nervous over how she looked. She also knew why Simon had left. If Lucy was right then the dress Susan was wearing was one of the dresses that Jadis had worn.

The sight of Susan wearing it must have been a shock for Simon. Lucy knew that she would need to find a way to tend to that but she could do that later. Instead, she turned back to Peter and Falaah.

…

Falaah and Peter had been dancing for hours when they finally stopped. Falaah's arms and legs ached but she had yet to notice. She was too busy staring into Peter's eyes. The same eyes that were lost in her own. The music had slowed down as the night progressed. By now they were the last two on the floor and were swaying slowly to the music.

Falaah was unsure of how to describe what it was but she liked the way she felt when Peter held her like he was. She remembered a story that her cousin Bryson had told her after one of his missions for the Tirsoc

There was a barmaid he had become friends with. He said that he should have married her, it was his greatest regret. Unfortunately, he was on a mission for the Tisroc and as such was forbidden from doing so.

The thought of her falling in with Peter had never fully occurred to her. But the more she thought about it the more it made sense. He was handsome, caring, a gentle Hing King in spite of the fact that he won his crown through war.

He was in effect everything the Tisroc was not and so much more. Falaah wanted nothing more than to kiss him but she knew that she couldn't. He was the High King of Narnia and no matter how noble he seemed she was still just the daughter of a middle-class Calormen noble.

Were her father still alive he would never approve and Peter was not going to be able to marry anyone who wasn't a noble. Falaah may have once counted but with her father's death and her attempt to flee that was no longer so.

Still, she would enjoy the moment for as long as she could. A terrible fate awaited her in the Calormen Empire. But she knew that Peter wouldn't let his feelings get in the way of his duty to his people.

That being said she decided that she would enjoy the moment for as long as it lasted. The song had changed and was now and was slowing down for the last time.

When the song stopped Peter leaned back slightly like he was thinking about something. He leaned in a gently kissed Falaah's left cheek. Without a word or hesitation, he stepped away and walked from the room.

She stood there for a few moments holding her hand to the spot he had kissed before she herself walked from the room. She had a few bittersweet tears running down her face. She was in love with High King Peter Pevensie.

And she would leave him for that very reason. She wanted to avoid bring war to the Narnians. And so she would return home at the first chance. If she was lucky it would be her death. Rabdash would not be happy about his runaway bride.

Falaah sat down at the desk she was given and set about making a journal entry. She didn't know who would ever find it but hopefully, it would one day mean something to them.

…

Lucy watched as Peter gently kissed Falaah on the cheek and then left the room immediately. It was good that the party was still in full swing or somebody may have noticed him. Lucy followed after her brother, she had a good idea of what was coming and if she was right Peter would need her.

Peter walked deep into the castle until he had made his way to one of the libraries. This one was Susan's personal study room and as such was the last place someone would go looking for Peter. Lucy was careful to open the door silently and chose to not fully close it.

She found Peter sitting in one of the chairs that faced out over the gardens. "How long have you known?" he asked Lucy

She wasn't one hundred percent sure what he meant but she decided to answer anyway. " I noticed what could have been the day I meet her, I knew that you loved her when you kissed her. What I still do not know is why you kissed her and then ran?"

"Because I do love her," Peter said still looking out over the gardens. "But I have an obligation to Narnia, If Rabdash wants a war with us he will use Falaah's very presence to make that happen." for the first time in this conversation he turned to look at Lucy. Peter's eyes were red and he had tears running down his face.

"I love and I have to send her away do what is most likely going to be her death so that I can protect my people," the more he spoke the more pain showed through his face.

Lucy walked over to her brother and after climbing up into his lap she wrapped her arms around him. She had never considered the possibility of Peter sending Falaah back. But when he said it she understood why.

She was still trying to figure out what to do but she knew that hugging Peter wouldn't solve the problem. So after a few minutes she leg go and headed off for Falaah. If anyone knew of a way to get around the problem it would be her.

…

Simon half walked half staggered through the deep catacombs of Cair Paravel. He knew them well from his time here before the long winter but something about them seemed wrong. He had come down here at first to re-evaluate his feelings for Susan.

Until a few minutes ago he was fairly certain he was falling in love with the High Queen of Narnia. Then he saw her in one of Jadis' old dresses and a spike of fear went through him. Was he in love with Susan or was he still in love with Jadis?

The similarities all made sense now. Susan was every bit as smart as Jadis and maybe even a little more beautiful. But if he was just feeling these things now for Susan because she reminded him of Jadis then that was a problem.

That wasn't fair to Susan, not by a long shot. If he was going to love her it had better be her he is in love with not a dead despot.

He was wrestling with this when he came across a feeling of extreme unease. He was uncertain of what it was but he needed to know. So he began to track down the source. As he drew closer he began to hear voices. One old and female and the other young and most definitely male.

Glancing around a corner he saw a werewolf and a hag talking just outside of a doorway. They seemed to be waiting for something from inside the room but what Simon did not know. He stepped around the corner and made himself known.

The werewolf wasted no time in lashing out at Simon only earning a bullet between the eyes for his troubles. Next the hag came at him with a blade. She tried to swipe in a right to left motion but was also gifted a slug for her efforts. As they bleed to death on the floor Simon heard her.

"Simon is that you?" she asked.

In shock, he dropped his gun as he looking into the room the two had been standing in front of. With soft words, Simon whispered. "Jada"


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Lucy found Falaah just where she was expecting to. The Calorwoman was in their shared room writing in the journal that Lucy had given her. Not wanting to read over Falaah's shoulder Lucy made a fact of closing the door loud enough to be heard.

Falaah jumped slightly but quickly turned around to see the queen. "Hello, Lucy have the festivities ended?" Lucy could see that she had been crying and it wasn't hard to see why. Falaah was a smart girl she knew that Peter was going to have to send her home.

Lucy walked over to her and rested a hand on her shoulder. "Why are you so afraid of going home?" she asked.

"It is more complicated than you would understand," Falaah answered.

"Is it Rabdash?" Lucy asked pushing the point further.

Falaah was visibly shocked by Lucy's question. Before she had the chance to ask Lucy answered. "The way that you said his name when we were discussing the assassination attempt."

"What does he have on you?" Lucy pressed.

Falaah was frozen for a moment. Did she really trust Lucy with everything? If she told Lucy then she may be executed for lying to the royal family or worse. Less than a moment after she thought it, Falaah hated herself for the idea.

The Pevenisies had always been good to here, besides Susan already knew that she has more education than she was telling. If anyone was going to keep her secret it was going to be Lucy.

"I was betrothed to him by my father," Falaah said fighting back the wave of nausea she got whenever she thought about her father.

Lucy at once seemed to understand. "So you ran away, and when you were captured by the men Rabdash sent, Edmund found you and took you, prisoner?"

Falaah nodded at her trying to maintain her composure. She had been handling the inevitability of her death by not think about it. Now that it was being brought up she was having a hard time handling the horrors that await her.

"THIS IS PERFECT," Lucy yelled bring Falaah from her worries. When she looked at the young queen with confused eyes Lucy elaborated. "This is exactly what we need to make Peter not send you back." Falaah was a little more confused

Taking Falaah's hands Lucy explained. " If we tell Peter that you are running from someone that wants to force you into a marriage you don't want then he will fight for you"

"But I don't want him to, I don't want to bring a war to Narnia because of me," Falaah said. At this Lucy reached up and slapped her hard across the face.

"No," the queen said to the still reeling Calorwoman. "You are in love with Peter and I know for a fact that he is in love with you. So if you insist on breaking my best friend and my brother's hearts then you had better give me a better reason than you are afraid of being a bother!" Lucy chastised with her hands on her hips.

Falaah was trying to listen but she was still hung up on the first sentence that Lucy had said. "And I know for a fact that he is in love with you" echoed in her mind. Peter loved her. She had hoped that was the case but she had no proof until now that is.

She felt her cheeks turning red not from the slap but from a heavy blush. Lucy kept going and ended up with her hands on her hips staring at Falaah like she was waiting for an answer. Lucy for her part realized that she was not going to be getting an answer from Falaah. Instead of waiting for one she said.

"Then it is settled we need to get you and Peter married as soon as possible." no sooner had the words left her mouth than Falaah's jaw fell open. Her marry the High King that was impossible.

She went to say so when Lucy held up her hand in a dismissive manner. " I do not want to hear about how things are different in the Calormen Empire you are not in the Empire. Now come we need to talk to a friend of mine she will know what to do."

With that Lucy took her hand and they started off.

…

Peter needed to clear his head so he went for a walk around Cair Paravel. He had been through the armory and through the Kitchens though that was a bit a challenge since the staff were always trying to get his to test whatever they were working on.

After that he had headed for an area he had never really been to. The catacombs of the castle were dark but he could still see in them. As he wandered through them a un-natural feeling of dread ran into him like a wave.

He had a hard time figuring out what the exact cause of his feelings but that didn't matter. He knew what he needed to do. He went to his room and grabbed Rhindon before heading back down and then going deeper.

He walked for what seemed like hours but he knew better. The lack of windows in the catacombs could have that manner of effect on a person. His search was long but he homed in on the feeling that he was getting. It lead him to an abandoned corridor. When he searched it he found a dead were-wolf and hag.

After the White Witch was defeated many of her servants swore loyalty to the Aslan and to the Pevenisies. There had only been two species that had refused the offer of forgiveness. The were-wolves and the hags.

When he inspected the bodies he noticed that they had both been shot. Which told him that he was looking at Simon's handy work. Peter heard voices from inside of the room that the wolf and hag had been guarding.

Silently drawing Rhindon he entered into the room. There at the far end between two stone pillars was Jadis frozen in a sheet of ice with the scar along her neck were Peter had beheaded her.

Simon was on one knee in front of her and was talking to her. When she saw Peter her eyes went wide with fear. It was the same face she had when he killed her. "SIMON!" she screamed. "That's him, Simon, that's the man that killed me,"

Simon quickly rose to his feet and reached for his gun. Peter made a mental note to thank Aslan that Simon's current outfit only had one holster and it was empty. Looking into Simon's eyes was like looking into a pit.

They were empty of all things except rage. But at who, Peter? As the large man approached Peter called out to him. "Simon, what are you doing?"

Simon offered no answer but Jadis did. "Oh, Simon won't be listening to you for a while you see he has remembered whose side he is really on."

Peter was going to question further but Simon had reached him and the bewitched man reached out to grab at Peter's arms.

Remembering what had happened when they fought before Peter pulled back and swung Rhindon at Simon's left leg. Yet Simon made no attempt to block or even defend himself. Instead, he let Peter cut at his leg and in exchange, he grabbed at Peter's exposed arm.

Peter tried to pull his arm back only to have Simon wrench Rhindon from his hand. Now Peter was worried. The almost matched even without weapons but Peter knew that Simon wasn't trying to kill him then.

Peter stepped back to avoid being struck by the round kick that Simon had just thrown at him. Using the opening that Simon needed to reset his balance Peter drew the small back up knife that he kept.

Simon for his part picked up Rhindon and ran after Peter with it.

Knowing that he was never going to win a sword fight with a knife Peter ran for the hallway and much to his satisfaction Simon followed.

If he wanted to get through to him then he needed to get Simon away from Jadis.

Peter ran as fast as he could with Simon hot on his heels. For once Peter was glad that he had left most of his armor in his room that would have slowed him down too much.

Finally they made their way to one of the old and out of use armories. Once inside Peter was able to find some cover and attempt to hide from Simon. Thankfully the table that he went under had enough that Simon couldn't see him.

Peter stayed there as Simon started to search the room. When Simon had passed by him Peter moved out and grabbed one of the hammers from the long dead forge. Dropping to a crouch Peter moved through the room on his way to Simon.

He had made his way to a good ambush spot when he saw Susan walk into the room. She seemed to be looking for Simon and she had found him.

Things slowed down from Peter's point of view. He saw Simon in his altered state turn on her. He saw Susan start to lean away before she stopped. Forgoing his ambush Peter decided to rush forward and began his attack.

He was too far away to help Susan was going to die and he was going to be too late. There was an awkward silence that fell over the room when Simon's swing stopped a few inches away from Susan's neck and Susan held out her hand to tell Peter to stop.

"Susan you need to move." Peter said. He was worried that if he moved that Simon would strike and kill her but he needed to do something. For now Simon had stopped moving but Peter could see that Rhindon's edge was getting closer to her neck.

"No," Susan said. "I know Simon, whatever is wrong with him he isn't going to hurt his friends." what Peter couldn't see was Simon's eyes. But Susan could, they were scared. He was fighting with something in his mind but Susan could not see what.

She felt the edge of Rhindon press against her neck gently at first but as the pressure started to increase. Susan closed her eyes and lifted her chin a little higher. She had made her choice. Simon was not going to kill her and she knew it.

Susan felt Rhindon's edge leave her neck before hearing it clatter to the floor across the room. When she opened her eyes she heard a muffled bang and saw Simon. He was sitting with his back against one of the one tables and his knees were pulled into his chest.

Susan couldn't hear it but she knew that he was crying and the sight broke her heart. Simon was many things but weak was never one of them. Yet here he was helpless. Susan was unsure of what had caused his outburst against Peter but she was certain that it was over now.

She walked slowly to him and gently put one of her hands on his hunched shoulders. With her other hand, she waved off Peter who was about to tell her to get back.

She chose not to speak instead she started humming to the tune of the song Simon had been singing the other night. The sound seemed to relax him a good bit and soon he was looking at her and not at his knees and empty hands.

He had tears in his eyes as he weakly whispered. "I'm so sorry,"

Susan was getting ready to ask him what had happened when Edmund spoke up from the doorway into the room. "Simon," he said with an understanding look on his face. 'I think you dropped this?"

While he was speaking he held out one of Simon's guns. Simon slowly took it and returned it to the corresponding holster when Peter said. "Susan go get Oreius."

Trusting her brother Susan slowly took her hand form Simon and head from the room. When Peter turned back to Simon the man had moved from where he was sitting to resting on his knees with his head tilted forward. He knew what Peter had to do.

He had betrayed Narnia for a second time now. He needed to die.

As Peter gathered Rhindon from the place Simon had thrown it he said. "Why'd you do it? What did she promise you?"

Simon offered no answer. He simply sat there waiting for the judgment. "Tell me?!" Peter growled he wanted to know what his life was worth to Simon.

This time Simon responded. "I was in Love with her."

Though the answer stunned Peter he did his best not to show it. Whatever the reason Simon had betrayed Narnia and for that he needed to die.

Resting the edge of the blade on the back of Simon's neck Peter drew back the blade in order for Lucy to break the silence. "EDMUND NO!" she screamed. When Peter turned to look he saw Edmund quietly sitting just out of his field of view.

He was on his knees with his shirt neatly folded next to him with his knife in his hand. Dropping Rhindon Peter lashed out throwing the hammer he still had in his other hand at his brother. Cracking the young man in the wrist making his drop the knife.

He then took off running making to his brother just before Lucy. dragging Ed to his feet Peter yelled. "What's wrong with you?"

Even as he said the words Peter knew what Edmund was about to say. And it made him sick. With somber eyes and a soft voice King Edmund the Just answered "I'm guilty of everything Simon is. We both betrayed Narnia, he did it for love I did because I was hungry. If he was deserving of death then so am I"

What made him sick was that Edmund was right. In his rush to judgment he had failed to think about the entirety of his actions. If Lucy had not arrived when she did then Peter would have executed and Edmund would have taken his own life so that Peter wouldn't have to.

Turning back to Simon Peter remembered that Jadis was still down the hall. Grabbing Rhindon Peter ran back to the room that she had been in and found a puddle on the floor.

Edmund was right behind and said. "I felt a pull to the room and I found her here. I used Simon's gun and I killed her. She was scared when she saw that I was going to kill her. I think that she was trying to do something but I don't really remember."

Walking back to his room Peter found that Simon had not moved in fact Lucy moved to him doing her best to console the still silently crying man. "Lucy get away from him!" Peter ordered. He wasn't going to kill Simon but he still took issue with him.

When Lucy failed to move Peter repeated himself. "Lucy, get away from him now!"

"No." Lucy said back. She had a calm that concerned Peter. She was smart enough to know that Simon must have done something based on what Edmund had said earlier. Before he could continue Lucy kept going. "I know what he did, I probably know better than you do. I will not let you hurt him. If Aslan can forgive him then so can you."

Simon who was still silent had seemed to get a grip on himself and was slowly standing up. "Consider yourself on notice" Peter growled before he left the room. He was tired and furious. Hopefully he would be able to get some sleep tonight.

As he left the room he saw Falaah she was still wearing the dress from the dance and before he could say anything she leaned up and kissed him on the cheek before she quickly walked off.

Now Peter was tired, furious, and very confused. When he arrived at his room he knew that he was going to be getting no sleep but he still stripped down into his sleeping ware and climbed into bed. He had a long and even if he didn't sleep he needed some rest.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Susan and Orieus entered into the old armory that Peter and Simon had been fighting in only to find Edmund waiting for them alone. Looking to Orieus he said. "Peter has gone to his room." that gave Orieus his orders which he followed without question.

Susan kept looking around for Simon and when Edmund noticed that he explained. "Simon went back to his room" he said that he needed to think about some things." He looked like he wanted to say more but he ultimately chose to stay silent.

He knew that she would need to know about Simon's past but Edmund also knew that his past was a secret for Simon to keep and share as he wished. Not to mention Edmund had to get ready to leave for the Calromen Empire soon.

Orieus traveled to the high king's room in short order. Finding the door open Orieus entered to see Peter sitting on the edge of his bed with his head in his hands. "What troubles you my King?" Orieus asked as he walked to the young man's side.

"I am at a crossroads between being a man and a King Orieus, I know what I must do but if I do it then I will never be able to forgive myself."

The High King's words showed Orieus how hurt Peter was, and how hurt he was getting ready to be. "Is it about Falaah my King?" the centaur asked. He was confident of the answer, so much so that he had no need of Peter to even answer but an important part of this was getting Peter to let everything out. It was amazing how many problems could be solved by talking about them.

"In large part yes, but there is more." Peter answered. "I think it obvious to nearly everyone that I have an emotional weakness for her," he meant that he was in love with her but that was something that he wanted to avoid saying. " but I have an obligation to Narnia to protect my people and that means that I send her back. Yet she left for a reason I doubt that she was supposed to be a part of the raiding party Edmund destroyed." letting out a tired sigh Peter continued. "And today I find out that a hundred years ago Simon betrayed Narnia to Jadis and he did it out of love. If love can blind him, what can it do to me, what am I not seeing because of my… because of my love for her."

Orieus was at a loss himself, he was unsure of what the solution for this matter was, it was unlike anything he had ever encountered. It was for this reason that he answered. "I do not know the answer to your current problems but I can ask a friend. I will let you know what I find."

Orieus made haste on his way to the dungeon. When he arrived he dismissed the guard with a nod. Walking the corridor of empty cells he knew that his arrival would be forewarned by his hooves on the stone floor. But when he reached his destination he was greeted not with a snarling beast but instead a peaceful beast calmly sitting on the chair in the cell.

Orieus wondered about the purpose of the second smaller chair next to the table. But for only a moment he had more important matters to tend to. "I have a problem my old friend."

As he spoke Orieus unlocked the cell and made his way inside to better speak with the fallen general. "Tell me your problem. I may be able to aid you with it." Ottmin responded not moving from his seat.

"I do not know if you will wish to help me?' Orieus said uncertain of the answer he was about to receive. After all Ottmin had vowed to kill Peter were he to ever get the chance but he was also the wisest person that Orieus knew. An odd trait for a beast of his past but one that he leveraged well in service to Jadis.

"It is about your High King and his love for the Calorwoman?" Ottmin asked. Orieus did his best not to look shocked but Ottmin continued. "Brother I have always been a resourceful one, I know much and say little. I am well aware of the boy's struggle."

"He is torn between the heart of a man and the soul of a king, I know not what to tell him." Orieus said. It was slim but there was a chance that Ottmin would help him if for no other reason then their history together.

"Which is worse, a King drawn to war by the strength of his heart or a King drawn to peace at the price of his soul. If he sends this woman away it will forever scar him in an irreparable way, if the Tisroc wants a war then he will have one regardless of the boy's choice. It is neither my choice nor yours but I think we know the one that serves the King best. Give him your council, leave my involvement out."

Having spoken his last on the matter Ottmin turned away from Orieus who took the que and left. After securing the gate Orieus asked. "Why help me, you have a sworn vow against the High King?"

The minotaur offered no response instead deciding to turn a little further away from his old friend. Leaving the dungeon Orieus noticed that the guard was still nowhere to be seen. He thought about calling him back yet he thought better of it. If Ottmin wanted to escape then he most likely could have.

Just as he turned up the stairs a small hooded figure passed just under his view. The figure had a basket in their hand and as Orieus headed up they headed for the dungeon.

…

Susan needed to find Simon, more to the point she had a feeling that he needed her to find him. His door was closed but she opened it anyway. Inside she found Simon sitting in one of the room's chairs staring out the window. "This was my room before, looking at the bed he shook his head and continued "but that doesn't make a whole lot of sense to you does it?"

"I know that you have some kind of link to the White Witch," Susan knew that her words were a gamble but many of life's choices were just a series of gambles based on all available information.

Aslan never mentioned Simon, Simon seemed to know things about Narnia and Cair Paravel that nobody else did. The legend to the northern Wizard was an ancient one going back as far as the reign of the Witch. And then there was the fact that he had a fully tailored suit that he could never have made himself. Not to mention that it was designed to match a dress that Susan found next to the one she wore to Peter's party.

That leads to the connection to the Witch. Susan knew that the dresses she found were well made and were to be frank a better quality than anything the Narnians could make. That combined with the way they seemed to make her colder the moment that she put them on. As well as the fact that they were taller than any woman she had ever met told her that they had been made by and for the White Witch.

What she wondered was why had Simon connected to that vile person. He had always seemed a good and honest man, true he was a touch brash and strong willed but he was still honest.

Almost as if he had sensed her question Simon spoke. "I was in love with her, she was my angel and I was her demon. I loved her and she used me to destroy Narnia."

Susan did her best to not gasp at the news. She had no answer for what she was just told. She knew that Simon was connected to the white witch but he had no idea that he had been in love with her.

"Was that why?" she was about to ask if he had tried to kill Peter because of his love for Jadis.

"No, I dispelled the illusion of her loving me a long, long time ago. I would venture that she had some manner of failsafe built into my mind that let her in. however she did it she sent me into a nearly feral rage and the only thing that I could think of was killing Peter."

Susan lifted a hand to the small scratch on her neck if Simon was under the influence of Jadis then why did he hesitate to kill her. What made her different. The first thing that sprang to mind sent a chill down her spine.

Was Simon in love with her?

It seemed ridiculous to think about, he had known her for less than a month. But they had spent a fair bit of time together. Then something made a bit more sense. After the attempt on their lives Peter was seething but he calmed down by the next day. Simon however had been on the warpath.

At first Susan had no idea why. They hadn't attacked him, looking back, if what she thought was correct then the fact that they had tried to kill Susan had been what set him upon the warpath. He was being defensive.

Defensive over her. Something about that made Susan feel warm inside but she was still a little scared. What about her would draw him in. "You know something, you're every bit as beautiful as her, smarter too." Simon said, still looking out his window.

That was good because if he had been looking at her then he would have seen that she had begun to turn a very dark shade of red. She was speechless. She had only seen Jadis once but she remembered that the former queen of Narnia was beautiful. But what sunk the deepest was the second half of his words. "Smarter too" Susan had always valued her intelligence but she never expected to meet someone else who would as well.

The warmth she was feeling died when she saw Simon's face and he looked scared. But of what," Simon, something's bothering you?"

"You now know my second darkest secret, so the question is do think you can still call me your friend after hearing that."

Susan knew that he was holding something back. Something that he was more ashamed of than his service to Jadis. A piece of her wanted to let the matter drop and move on, hoping that Simon would open up later but she may never get a second chance at this. "Simon, what happened in Texas?"

Simon looked like a deer in the headlights. He was terrified of answering but he seemed more afraid of not answering her. "It was the last raid I led on a Kiowa camp. The man running the camp came out with a shotgun. I gave him a 44 before he had even seen me." Simon now looked like he was back in that moment seeing everything happen all over again. " next his son reached for the gun. He was looking at me with so much hate in his eyes. When I pulled the trigger I thought nothing of it. His body was still falling when a boy now more than twelve years old grabbed the gun." Simon was close to tears now. "I begged him not to but I don't think he spoke english, he pointed a weapon at me and my training took over." Simon was crying now this was the most painful memory he had."his mother was so distraught, she didn't want to live without her family. She charged me with a knife so I killed her too." finally looking at Susan Simon said. "In the span of seven seconds I wiped an entire family off the map."

Susan now understood why Simon was so worried about telling her. He had done something that would go down in history as a massacre. But when she looked at him she saw a man who detested what he had done. A man who went so far as to journey to forgein lands hoping to first hide from his shame and then to try and do some good in the world.

"Was that why Aslan came to you?" she asked.

"Yes, I was given a chance to save lives instead of taking them. And I did so well then. I wasn't able to fight when I needed to and wouldn't fight when I should have."

Susan moved closer and wrapped one of her arms around Simon. "You were too afraid of becoming what you were to be what you needed to be. But you learned that lesson." she whispered into his ear.

Looking out his window with him she saw a breathtaking view of the sea.

…

Peter was sitting on the edge of his bed thinking about how much he needed Aslan's advice. When he heard a knock at the door he turned and saw Edmund standing in his full dress armor. "I am ready to leave for the Calormen Empire." he said.

Setting his personal matters aside Peter walked to his brother's side. "You're going to be meeting the Tisroc. The leader of the Calormen Empire. On that day you are the face of Narnia, carry that honor well brother." hugging Edmund Peter said. "Make sure you come back, if you don't then Sue will kill me."

Breaking away from Peter with a chuckle Edmund said. "I am going to be taking Cetus and a few warriors with me." Peter nodded and watched his brother leave. If all went well then they would have peace and Peter could get back to ruling Narnia and attempting to figure out his emotions.


	16. Chapter 16

chapter 16

Orieus saw Edmund off the setting sun at his right painted the sky a majestic orange and red collage. He knew that Peter was watching from the castle but this was meant to be Edmund's moment in the eyes of the people. Having Peter here would detract from that. He gave one last look to Cetus who nodded their mutual understanding.

They had left the city and were heading to cross a massive desert. It would be a long and perilous journey and it was Cetus' responsibility to get Edmund back in one piece. In that time Orieus would see to Cair Paravel and her defenses.

Orieus saw a flight of birds flying from the castle but something was off about the formation one of the birds seemed a little slower. He was trying to figure out what to make of it when he was interrupted by Mr. Tumnus. "Orieus you must come quickly we cannot find Queen Lucy."

The remaining members of the royal guard that were not on duty had been at the gate to see Edmund off. Without having to give the orders they were off and searching the various sections of the castle. Orieus took the dungeon level and on his way down he met Lucy coming up. She noticed that he seemed both winded and relieved all at the same time.

"Is there a problem Orieus?" she asked.

He was trying not to seem like he had just ran from the main gate of the city all the way to the castle dungeon when he answered. "No your majesty the guards informed me that you were unable to be found."

Lucy smiled shyly saying. "Oh, I am sorry for worrying you but I was simply visiting a friend." without explaining she left Orieus trying to understand who she was meeting in the dungeon. After he realized that he was standing on the stairs staring at the wall trying to answer a question that honestly needed no answering. He turned and headed up the stairs on his way to manage the remaining guards.

Falaah was worried, Lucy had laid out a dress for her and left her a note detailing her plan. Lucy had put together both the outfit and the plan so fast that Falaah was wondering if she had already been working on it.

The dress was a basic design but it seemed well made. It was mostly red but it had pieces of yellow trim. The note explained that a picnic basket would be waiting in the kitchen tomorrow afternoon.

It wasn't hard to figure out what she was being sent into. Lucy wanted her to have a picnic with Peter. All part of her master plan to get Peter to make her stay. Falaah didn't like that plan instead he was going to tell Peter everything.

If Lucy was correct and he loved her then he would do the right thing. The only question left was what the right thing was. Could she in good conscience let him effectively start a war over her. What if she did. Would she be to blame for all the lives lost.

Falaah found herself standing outside of Peter's door. It was closed and she was about to knock when she heard voices coming from inside. It was Oreius speaking to Peter. "Your majesty I have done some thinking and some talking with a friend of mine. I have an answer that may serve you well."

By the level and tone of his voice Peter sounded tired and worried. Falaah had a good idea why and it made the lump in her throat grow even larger. "Alright then what may that be?"

"Your majesty the love your people have for you comes from who you are, what you hold dear." the centaur could be heard walking as he spoke. " If you deny that and wound yourself in the process it damages the very thing your people love. I speak for all the men of Narnia. If a war were waged with the Calormen because they attempted to claim Falaah as theirs. And if they knew of your feelings for her." The walking stopped as Oreius finished his words. " Then they would take up arms for her in less than a thought. They would see her as their third queen and any threat to her would be handled as a threat to all of Narnia."

There was a long silence before Peter broke it. "That is troubling news," Falaah could almost hear Oreius' shock but she knew what Peter meant. "I worry about one day misusing my power. My own people going to war because I am…`` There was a pause that lasted only a moment. "Because I am in love is the exact thing that I am terrified of. The people of Narnia, my people have placed their lives in my hands and the thought of spending those lives for nothing more than my own heart is…"

Peter was silent once again and Oreius was the one who broke it this time. "My King, it is for that very reason that we are willing to make that sacrifice. I know that you are wrestling with matters that often exceed my purview so I will take my leave and allow you to come to your own conclusion."

Oreius could be heard walking to the door and Falaah panicked. The centaur already had a mild distrust of her. If he caught her listening in on a private conversation it may worsen the already confusing situation.

She scurried away from the door and was thankfully outside of the Centaur's line of sight as he left.

She needed to decide what she was going to do. She loved Peter and she knew that he loved her but was she willing to be the cause of a war. No, she knew that it would be her death if she went back but she needed a better plan than starting a full scale war. Maybe if Edmund managed to get the tisroc to do something about Rabdash then she could act but for now all she had to do was wait and hope.

On her way back to her room she saw Simon and Susan sitting in the window of his room. They had their feet dangling outside and one of Simon's arms was wrapped around Susan. It was an endearing sight that gave Falaah a small amount of hope.

She had returned to her room when she saw Lucy waiting for her. Falaah could tell that Lucy was unhappy about something but had no way of figuring out what.

"Why is the dress still on the bed?" she asked. Lucy seemed to have realised that Falaah had no intention of following through with her plan.

"Lucy I can't try and court your brother right now. It's the last thing he needs. He has enough to worry about. Maybe if Edmund returns with good news then we can see." she was hoping that Lucy would agree with her. She knew that she was right but that didn't change the fact that Lucy may not agree with her.

"I think you are being foolish but I suppose that it is ultimately your choice. So there is only so much that I can do about it." Lucy said conceding the point.

"I saw Susan and Simon." Falaah said, trying to change the conversation. The look she got from Lucy told her she had succeeded. "They were in Simon's room."

Lucy moved with surprising speed for someone of her size. Before Falaah could ask where she was going the queen was already in the hallway and tip toeing in the direction of Simon's room. When they were just outside the room they heard the two of them talking. Taking a chance Lucy peeked around the corner and saw them sitting together on the couch. They were looking out the window at the sunset.

"Susan," Simon started. "I need to say something, something I know for a fact, but I'm terrified of it."

At this Lucy was beaming. She knew where this was going. Simon was going to say that he was in love with Susan. It was much faster than expected but turning to look at Falaah she remembered that sometimes life comes at you out of nowhere.

"I know," Susan said as she snuggled in a little closer to Simon. "I know, you have a lot on your heart and I know what you are going to say. If it makes you feel any better you don't have to say it right now."

Taking another peak around the corner Lucy saw that Simon and Susan were looking into each other's years of eyes. They were getting closer and Lucy had to do her best not to giggle. When she saw them kiss she had to tiptoe all the way back to her room before she started jumping around and shouting with joy.

The world may not have been that bad but the sight of Susan and Simon as well as Lucy gave Falaah a sense of peace. It may take a little while but everything would be fine. She was sure of it.


End file.
